


The One That Didn't Float

by madison4



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King, Pennywise - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-01
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-03-25 14:00:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 39
Words: 35,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13836246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madison4/pseuds/madison4
Summary: Depressed nineteen year old Heather has left behind her upstate home in New York for Derry just as child eating clown Pennywise has awoken from his sleep. He has Heather in his sights as his next meal and comes to claim her life one night, only to find she has no fear for him to feast on. Drawn to one another by some unrelenting curiosity, the two of them develop a friendship of sorts...that is until they realise they’ve fallen for each other.





	1. Chapter 1

The heavy autumn rain battered the window as Heather laid on her bed staring at the ceiling. She had been in Derry for all of half an hour and she already had a suspicion that she wasn't going to enjoy it. Since she had been diagnosed with depression her family had decided to move away from the hustle and bustle of New York to the quiet and peaceful refuge of Maine. Her parents seemed to think that moving away from the busy city would help ease the stress on her mental wellbeing but if anything it meant she had less to distract herself from her own mind.

Deciding she should do something with herself other than staring into space, she got up from the bed and looked out the window. She had to admit it was a pleasant looking town and the locals had been kind and hospitable but she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something rather dreary about it. Something almost sinister. She tried not to think anything of it, figuring it was just her way of mind. The moving van pulled away from the house, gliding across the slick, rain coated road. She sighed as she watched the slow moving world outside, tucking a stray lock of her chestnut hair behind her ear. 

Heather was a fairly average nineteen year old. She was a smart girl, having finished school with numerous grade As. She had a typical middle class family, her father a surgeon who had worked for a private hospital in Manhattan but who now has a new position in Maine, part of the reason they had moved. Her mother was unemployed, a stay at home mom looking after the house and Heather's twelve year old brother Lucas. They were a well off and happy family, but for some reason, she couldn't be happy too.

"Why don't you go outside and look around the area?" Heather's mother peered around the door.

"But it's raining." she said.

"Well put on your coat."

She figured there wasn't much else she could do and she really ought to go outside. 

"Alright then." she got up and went downstairs.

The rain seemed to have calmed a little when she went outside. She looked at the other houses as she made her way down the street. They seemed quaint and homely, the trees all around adding to their charm. It was certainly a far cry from the spartan, indistinguishable homes of New York. Her peaceful state was suddenly disturbed as she heard a voice;

"Hiya Heather." it said.

Her eyes darted left and right, trying to find who was talking to her. 

"Down here." the voice said again. 

She looked down into the storm drain, a pair of blue eyes staring back at her, a startling contrast against the dark of the sewer. 

"Oh...hello." she was puzzled as to why he was in the drain.

"What are you doing in there?" she asked, bending to his level but still keeping her distance.

"Well the storm blew me away, it blew the whole circus down here." he said with a wide, red lipped grin. 

"I see." she said, unsettled by his unnatural smile. He said he was from a circus, so judging by his makeup he was obviously a clown.

"How do you know my name?" she asked, remembering what he had said to her. 

"It's a small town." his grin looked rather malicious now. 

"Oh how rude of me, I haven't even introduced myself. I'm Pennywise the dancing clown." he said in the typical upbeat manner of a clown. 

"Well, it's nice to meet you." she forced a slight smile.

Her uneasiness grew as a trail of drool hung from the clown's hungry mouth. 

"I should probably get going now, my mom's expecting me home." she made an excuse to get away from him.

"Bye Heather." his blue eyes turned to a malefic gold for a brief second. 

She promptly began to walk back to her house, relieved to get away from the strange clown. 

"I'll be seeing you soon." he said in a raspy growl as he sank back into the darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

"Back so soon?" Heather's mother said.

"Yeah, the rain was getting really bad." Heather said as she hung up her coat.

"Well we can all go out tomorrow when the storm's over. Now can you go and get your father and your brother, dinner's ready."

"Sure." she said.

"Mom says dinner's ready." she called up the stairs.

The next day Heather and her family decided they would go for a walk around the town. The sun beamed in the sky as if the storm yesterday had never happened. As they walked down the street she glanced at the storm drain. No clown this time. She hoped she wouldn't have to see him again. He had seemed almost threatening during her encounter with him yesterday.

"Where are we going first?" Heather's brother Lucas asked.

"Well I think we should walk down the main road first and see some of the shops." their mother said.

There weren't a great deal of shops in Derry. Most of them were small local shops, selling only the essentials, though there were several cafés and clothes shops. Heather wasn't particularly materialistic but she had enjoyed having so many shops at her disposal in New York. There certainly wouldn't be much to amuse herself with. She sighed as she thought how boring these next few years of her life would be before she could move away. She was snapped out of her thoughts as she saw a striking red object moving out the corner of her eye. It was a balloon, held in the hand of the same sinister clown in the storm drain. An icy chill ran through her as he grinned at her, his golden eyes alight with hunger for her flesh.

"Heather, is there anywhere you'd like to go?" her mother asked.

Her head whipped around, her attention diverted from the clown, "oh no, I don't mind." she said.

She looked back but he was gone. There was definitely something dark and malicious about that clown. Heather was on edge the rest of the day, looking out for Pennywise. Though by the time she went to bed that evening her worried state had lessened and she was able to get to sleep without harrowing thoughts of the clown occupying her mind. She had been asleep for ten minutes when she heard what seemed to be a faint jingle. She stirred slightly, opening her eyes before hearing it again. Now fully awake, she sat up, her heart sinking to her stomach at what she saw.

There he was, those same glowing eyes chilling her to her core as he took slow, lurching steps towards her. He tilted his head as though he were examining his prey. She shrank back into the headboard of her bed as the tall clown loomed over her, drooling onto the bed sheets.

"Hello Heather." he said, his child like tone making him all the more brooding.

His gloved hand traced through her hair while he closed his eyes, inhaling her scent.

"Mmm, beautiful fear." he rasped with a sickening, fanged smile.

She clenched her teeth, breathing deeply as she tried to ease her panic. He wrapped his hand around her throat, lifting her as though she weighed nothing to meet his gaze. She writhed and kicked, trying to free herself from his grasp but stopped as she realised there was no escape from this murderous clown.

"I don't care. Just kill me!" her tone was desperate yet indifferent.

Pennywise's grin was wiped away at her words. She looked at him emotionlessly, making no attempt for survival.

"Just kill me! I don't want to live, I don't want to suffer anymore! I just want to die!" she cried out, holding back tears.

He was completely taken aback. Never in all the centuries that he had terrorised the people of Derry had any of them actually wanted to be killed by him. He almost wanted to ask if she was alright but his desire to kill overpowered any humanity within him. The smell of her fear had vanished, how could he eat her now? She would be stale and bland.

"Hmm, I wonder about little Lucas. I'm sure he'd make a tasty snack." he licked his lips.

"No, don't hurt him! Just take me, please." she pleaded with the flesh hungry clown.

What was he supposed to do now? He could easily have this girl, she was even willing to die. But there was the temptation of a tastier, fear flavoured treat.

"Please, you don't need to have him, take me." she said, her green eyes staring into his golden ones, searching for the smallest trace of kindness.

He lowered her to the ground, still keeping a firm grip on her neck. Pennywise considered her offer, thinking of all his options. If he ate her she would taste truly awful, but somehow the thought of eating her brother didn't seem very appealing. Surely he didn't pity her? He simply couldn't make a decision, and so he let go of her and disappeared as quickly as he appeared without a single word. He told himself that he'd back, and one of them would be his next meal. For now though, they were spared from a gruesome end.


	3. Chapter 3

Heather hardly slept the rest of that night. She was pretty shaken by her encounter with Pennywise, the feeling of his cool, gloved fingers around her neck still lingering on her skin. Though he was initially terrifying she had to admit there was something rather alluring about him, something almost mesmerising. Could it be his luminescent golden eyes? His big, cherry lips? Or maybe even the terror that he strikes into her heart? She just couldn't pin point what it was.

Pennywise couldn't help but think about that girl. The one who had been willing to be ended by him. Never before had any of his victims made such a request, he just simply couldn't decide what to do with her. He wondered what would actually make her want to die. It was probably some human disorder he had never heard of, he didn't take the time to learn about such things. His curiosity almost made him want to approach her and ask, but she would be confused if he went and asked her questions after trying to eat her. He would just have to keep wondering.

It was a pleasant, sunny morning as Heather walked down the Main Street. Her mother had given her a list of items that she needed to buy from the local store. Once she had bought them, plus a few for herself, she began the journey home. Since the weather was so lovely, she decided to walk back along the river. Surely the beautiful, tranquil scenery will liven her up a little.

A wonderful feeling of serenity came over her as she listened to the gentle flow of the river and marvelled at the lush, green trees. Little did she know that a certain troublesome gang laid in wait, watching her as she walked along the river bank.

"Maybe we should leave her alone Henry." Patrick said.

"No, this one's mine." Henry Bowers said in an ominous tone.

The rest of the gang exchanged apprehensive glances, knowing that what they were about to do wasn't right but also knowing that they couldn't defy Henry. They rode their bikes down the slope, disturbing Heather from her reverie.

"Heya girly, what's your name?" Henry said with a smirk as he and his gang circled her.

"What's it to you?" she retorted.

"Feisty, eh?" he said as he looked her up and down.

"Look, I'm very busy and I'd appreciate it if you let me through." she began to walk forward but was stopped by Henry, who had came off his bike and now stood mere inches apart from her.

"That's not going to happen." he said with a worryingly stony expression, closing the gap between their bodies.

Heather stepped back, knowing she was in certain danger.

"Please, just let me go." she said as she tried again to push through, only to be shoved back by Henry, her bag of groceries knocked onto the ground.

"Not until I get what I want." he said through gritted teeth, taking a firm grip of her wrist.

"Let me go!" she said as she fought against his grasp.

"Henry, maybe you should let her go man." Patrick tried to reason with him.

"Shut up Patrick!" he yelled.

"What a pretty thing you are." Henry said, sniffing her hair as he held her body against his.

She tried to thrash against him, alarmed at his possible intentions. Unbeknown to them, a familiar clown had emerged from his home in the sewers to find out what was disturbing his peace and quiet. Perhaps there was even a snack in it for him. He snuck across the river and to the source of the noise. It was that annoying group of boys who liked to lurk near his home. How he'd like to sink his fangs into them. There was a also a girl with them, that same girl that he had thought so intently about earlier. It looked as though they were going to attack her. It would be against all that he represented to help her, but somehow he didn't like to see her being hurt.

"Please don't!" she pleaded as Henry began to unzip his trousers, tears streaming down her face as she realised what was going to happen.

In a sudden, unfamiliar instinct, Pennywise hurried forward to help the girl. Heather braced herself for what was about to happen, knowing there was no way she could fight him off.

"Hold her down guys!" Henry called to his friends.

They looked uncertainly at one other before gingerly walking over, holding her arms and legs down as Henry loomed above her. She wanted to be sick as his psychotic eyes burned into hers, making his horrid intentions obvious. She cried as he forced her jeans down, his fingers tracing the hem of of thin cotton underwear.

She closed her eyes, not wanting to look at him while he violated her. Then suddenly his weight was lifted off of her, followed by a loud scream. She opened her eyes again and drew back in fright as Pennywise stood tall above her. He gripped tightly onto Henry, whose height was nothing compared to the massive clown.

"Let me go you freaky bastard!" Henry shouted as he writhed and thrashed.

"Now that's not very nice." Pennywise yanked him by his collar to meet his gaze.

Patrick and the others stood fixed to the spot, looking on in terror at the clown.

"I can't enjoy a moment's peace and quiet without you and your friends causing a racket." Pennywise growled as he tightened his grasp on the frightened boy.

"Who the hell are you?" Henry said, continuing to fight against the powerful clown.

"Oh, have we not been introduced? How rude of me, I'm Pennywise the dancing clown." he said with a disquieting chuckle.

Henry laughed, turning to his group who all gave a forced laugh. Pennywise did not look amused, his friendly blue eyes turning back into their usual chilling gold.

"The dancing clown huh? Funny." he gave a superior grin.

"You think I'm funny? Well, you won't be laughing now." he said as he smiled with his many rows of fangs.

Henry grin immediately vanished, his eyes wide with fear. He screamed in agony as Pennywise sank his fangs into his shoulder, tearing out a large mouthful of flesh. Pennywise released him, letting him fall to the ground with a thud.

"Stay away from my home." he spoke in a low, raspy growl as Henry and his friends stumbled away.

Heather looked up in stunned silence at the malevolent clown. Why was he saving her from attack after trying to kill her? It didn't make any sense. She sat up, still a mere fraction of his impressive height. They looked awkwardly at one another, neither knowing what to say. She had a lot to thank this clown for. He had just saved her from being taken advantage of. He could've easily let it happen. Doing so would've been a lot more in his nature.

To add to her surprise, the clown stepped forward and offered a hand to her. It could very well be a trap. Any moment he could snap her up and devour her. But her gut instinct seemed to be that this clown was trustworthy enough. His gloved hand met hers, pulling her up to her feet. Through his glove it felt warm. She almost wanted to hug him, her saviour, but that probably wasn't a good idea. For someone who had tried to kill her less then twenty four hours ago, she felt strangely safe around him. He took his hand out of hers, standing imposingly in front of her.

"Th - thank you." Heather said with a small but sincere smile.

The clown had no reaction, though she could tell he heeded her thanks. She looked away from him and to the bag of groceries that laid strewn across the grass. Great. Her mother wouldn't be all too chuffed about that. She then looked back to Pennywise but he had vanished, back in his home in the sewers once again.


	4. Chapter 4

Heather was restless the rest of the day. All she could think of was why that clown had helped her. This murderous, psychotic being who had craved the very flesh on her bones was now showing her kindness. When nightfall came she couldn't let her curiosity eat at her anymore. Once her parents had thought she was sound asleep in bed, she got changed, grabbed a torch and snuck out of the house.

She found her way to the storm drain she had seen Pennywise in the other day. With a sigh of reluctance, she sat on the pavement and squeezed her way into the narrow space. Thankfully there wasn't much of a drop into the sewer and she landed, though rather unsteadily, onto her feet. She turned on her torch and trudged through the murky water, unsure of where she was going. Surely that clown would turn up somewhere.

After aimlessly wandering through countless tunnels she eventually came to a large, circular chamber. An enormous pile of miscellaneous objects, most of which being toys, stood in the middle of the room. When Heather looked up further she was horrified at what she saw. The lifeless bodies of innumerable children floated around the pile like ragdolls. She took a step back, only to bump against a tall, strong body. Feeling a spot of drool gathering on her shoulder, she slowly turned around, breathing accelerated as she was met with the menacing, hungry grin of Pennywise.

"Well, it's not everyday a snack falls right into my lap." he said as drool continued to flow from his mouth.

Her heart began to race but she didn't feel afraid. Her gut seemed to tell her that she wasn't in any danger. And she knew that he wouldn't touch her if she wasn't scared of him.

"Now why would you come here hmm? Do you want to get yourself killed?" he said, his smile now gone.

"I...I wanted to ask why you saved me yesterday." she spoke, swallowing hard.

A faint growl escaped his throat, frustrated that she had asked him that.

"Well I had planned to make a snack of those boys but you made things complicated. It wasn't worth the effort to take you as well." he spoke, hoping to brush her off.

"That still doesn't explain why." she stated rather boldly.

"You ask too many questions." he growled, thrusting her upwards by the collar of her t-shirt.

"Why are you avoiding the question?" she tried to remain unfazed by him.

"Silence!" he yelled, yanking her towards his face.

"You wanted to save me didn't you?" she said as she looked into his fiery gold eyes.

"You're not as cruel and malicious as you make people believe." she said.

His eyes seemed to glow more vividly than she had ever seen, enraged by her audacity. He let out an animalistic growl as he threw her to the hard concrete floor. She put a hand on her throbbing head, wincing as she sat up.

"I should consume every last morsel of your flesh!" he rasped as he loomed above her, his gloves tearing as long, deadly claws pierced out.

"But you won't. Not if I don't feel fear." she said nonchalantly.

Without anything he could say to prove her wrong, he could only use violence to express his inherent malevolence, and so he threw her to the ground again.

"What are you?" she asked, unbothered by the harm he was inflicting upon her.

"That is beyond your comprehension." he snarled.

"Try me." she said, tilting her head to one side.

"I am from another universe, an immortal, unbeatable entity that can take any form it desires." he spoke, kneeling down to her level.

"My my." she said with a coy grin.

He was frustrated by her indifference to him. There wasn't really anything he could do to make her afraid of him. What was going to do with her?

"Well if you have no plans for me then I really should be going." she said.

Every fibre of his being writhed with suppressed agitation. Letting her go would be against everything he led people to believe about him. But what else could he do? Something held him back from eating her. Whether it was his own personal feelings or her lack of fear he could not determine. He could only hope that it was the latter.

He let out a grumble of reluctance, "go." he said with a frown.

"Bye bye clown boy." she teased, leaning forward and tapping his red painted nose, much to his anger.

She turned and took a final look at the sinister clown, smiling to herself before walking into the darkness and out of the sewer.


	5. Chapter 5

Five days had passed since Heather's escapade with Pennywise. Though unbeknown to her, he had been watching her all the while. He couldn't take his eyes off her; there was something about her that fascinated him, allured him even.

It was a calm Sunday afternoon in Derry. Heather was downstairs in the sitting room, playing on the baby grand piano next to the window. The only refuge she could find from the sadness that ate away at her mind was music. She played one of her favourite pieces, Nocturne no. 19 by Chopin. That song seemed to connect with her soul. Embodying all the tempestuous emotions that clouded her mind. She closed her eyes in reverie as her slender fingers danced across the keyboard, the music flowing fluently from her fingertips.

Invisible to her, Pennywise watched as she played. He had to admit he was rather impressed by her playing. He found himself quite relaxed by the flowing melodies. His eyes were fixed intently on her. He found himself captivated by how graceful she looked while she played, enhanced further by the soft light from the window.

Finally she drew to the end of the piece, her foot on the sustain pedal, letting the final notes resonate around the room. Her head shot around when she heard clapping from behind her. There stood the tall clown, not making any effort to appear menacing.

"Well aren't you a little star." he said with a grin.

She couldn't decided whether he was acting in his usual joking manner or being genuinely sincere.

"Um, thanks." she said, not knowing what else she could really say.

"Out of all the people in this town who I've watched in all the centuries I've been here, none have played so well as you." he said, hands tucked behind his back.

This clown was being really confusing. Surely he didn't treat anyone else like this? How could he go from wanting to eat her to giving her compliments?

"Why are you being so nice? I thought you wanted to eat me?" she asked, looking up at the tall clown from her piano stool.

Pennywise looked away, thinking of what to say. He drew a breath, ready to speak when the door opened. With a growl of annoyance he disappeared in the blink of an eye as Heather's mother walked in.

"Time for dinner sweetie." she said with a smile.

"Ok, I'll be there in a second." she responded.

How she wished she could've heard what Pennywise was going to say. She wanted desperately to know if he had a liking for her or if she was just a toy for him to play with and eat later. She smiled as she thought about what he had said to her, that she was the best pianist he had ever heard. If he was complimenting her playing then she was definitely good.

"Someone's in a good mood." her father said as she sat at the dinner table.

"I bet she's thinking about boys." Lucas teased.

"Something like that." she said, subtlety smirking to herself.

The gentle breeze stroked her face as she looked out of the open window. She felt at peace as she looked at the warm colours of the twilight sky. Maybe moving to Derry wasn't such a bad idea after all, though she hadn't really made any friends yet. The only person she could call her friend at the moment was Pennywise. She dismissed the thought from her mind. You can't be friends with someone who tried to eat you right? Though he seemed as though he was warming up to her.

She smiled the first true smile of happiness that she had had in a long while as a familiar object floated slowly past her window. A red balloon. Heather reached forward for it, holding the string between her fingers as she looked out and wondered where Pennywise was at that moment.


	6. Chapter 6

Sunshine cut through the thick grey clouds, shards of light making there way into Heather's room where she sat reading. Over the top of her book she spied Pennywise standing at the foot of her bed, not quite smiling but not frowning either.

"You again?" she said nonchalantly, averting her eyes back to her book.

He let out a small irritated growl, but Heather just smiled to herself, knowing there wasn't much he could to her if she wasn't afraid.

"I wouldn't get too laid back if I were you. I might just get hungry." he threatened, edging closer to her.

"Why do you eat human flesh? Surely there must be other things you could eat?" she asked, laying her book aside.

"I feed on fear. It's like seasoning the meat." he said, a small trail of drool escaping down the side of his mouth.

"Fear huh? I didn't know fear had a taste." she said with a smirk.

"It's delicious." he said, coming nearer still.

"Have you even tried other things? Normal food that humans eat."

He snarled in response, making it clear that he hadn't.

"Come on, my parents are out and we've got tons of food downstairs, why don't you try some?"

"Why would I want your disgusting human food?" he said, furrowing his nearly invisible brows in frustration.

"How do you know it's disgusting if you haven't tried it?"

He was silent, looking away from her.

"Come on, let's go downstairs." she said, calmly grabbing his wrist and ushering him to the kitchen, much to his shock.

The kitchen was large, innumerable cupboards stacked with items of food.

"Now, let's see," she said as she began looking through the cupboards, "surely a clown would like popcorn" she opened the bag and handed it to him.

Pennywise looked hesitantly at it, picking out a piece and carefully examining it. He put it in his mouth, his eyes widening before he forcefully ploughed his hand into the packet and threw a handful into his mouth.

"You like it then?" she said with a laugh.

He put the packet down, not wanting to seem too eager, "it was alright." he said.

"Sure, well why don't you try some marshmallows."

He took the packet off her before she could open it, tearing the top off with his sharp teeth. He seemed puzzled by how they squished between his fingers. His eyes turned a calm blue as he inhaled the sugary scent before tossing several in his mouth.

"They're sticky." he said, his eyes turning back to a fiery gold.

"So?" she said, unamused by his fussiness.

He growled, but soon returned to devouring the bag of marshmallows.

"Now for my favourite, chocolate."

Again he tore the top off and consumed half the bar in one mouthful. His eyes returned to blue again, indicating that he was enjoying it, as he finished the bar.

"Is...is there more?" he asked grudgingly.

She laughed, "we've got loads," she said as she grabbed several bags of sweets.

After twenty minutes nearly all the sweets in the house had been eaten, and Pennywise was stuffed.

"Is all human food so sweet?" he asked.

"Well I only gave you sugary foods. They're not healthy, but food that is healthy tastes pretty boring in comparison."

"So have I managed to convert you from eating people?" she continued.

"Well I must admit that was quite tasty, but nothing is quite so tasty as fear. But who knows, maybe I'll have some popcorn every now and again." he said with a grin.

She looked into his eyes, his sea blue orbs giving her a sense of odd comfort. He seemed very relaxed, his body not braced for attack for the first time she had ever seen. Feeling safe, she took a step towards him, their bodies mere inches apart. In a moment of boldness, she put a hand on his face, fazing him for a second.

She felt her heart beat fast as they looked intently into one another's eyes, searching each other's souls. What was it that she felt for him? Overcome by some unknown drive, she leaned forward, though doing so with caution. She had thought herself quite tall at five foot eight, but he still towered above her. He too found himself entranced, edging his face closer to hers. The space between their lips was infinitesimal. She could feel his warm breath on her face, closing her eyes, ready for his soft cherry lips.

They were forced to part as they heard the sound of the door opening. She felt cold as his warmth suddenly disappeared. With great speed she put the empty packets into the bin and ran upstairs, making it seem as though none of this had happened in the first place.


	7. Chapter 7

"Heather, can you help me bring some of these bags into the house?" her mother said, carrying a heavy bag of shopping in each hand.

"Yeah, sure." she replied as she walked outside to the car.

"Thank you dear." her mother said with a quick smile, busily unloading the contents of the bags into the cupboards.

"You've been cooped up in here all day, why don't you go out?" she added.

"Do I have a say in this?" Heather said, folding her arms in defiance.

"No, you don't." her mother said with furrowed brows, clearly unamused by her presumptuousness.

"Oh fine then." Heather sighed, grabbing some money and putting on her shoes before heading out the door.

As she walked along the pavement, she wondered what she should do with herself. Go to the local cafe? No, she had already been twice this week. Go to the park? No, there wasn't much for someone her age to do. Then an idea struck her. Maybe Pennywise was lurking in the sewers again. He was the only amusing company she had at the moment.

"I don't want to go back into those sewers again. Hmm, maybe I could meet him on the grassy bit outside?" Heather spoke to herself.

She made her way along the riverbank, unpleasant memories of what had nearly happened to her here flashing through her mind. But Pennywise had saved her, proving maybe he wasn't quite as monstrous as he appeared.

"Pennywise? Are you there?" she called out uncertainly, standing on the grass by the sewer opening.

Twenty seconds passed, Heather looked all around to see if the clown had appeared.

"Pennywise?" she said again, quieter.

She stepped back, bumping into a tall figure. It was him.

"You rang." he said with a toothy grin.

"Well, what brings you here? Usually it's me who has to make the first move." he said.

"I just wanted to talk." she said, completely unfazed by him.

"You want to talk? With me?" he said, looking at her with bewilderment.

"Yeah, why not? I thought we should get to know each other better, especially after what happened, or should I say nearly happened, yesterday." she said with a coy smile.

At her words he grew visibly uncomfortable, his lips pursed and his vision cast away from her.

"I...don't know what that was." he muttered.

She could see that it wouldn't do her any favours to continue on the subject so she decided to make other conversation.

"So, tell me about yourself." she said, hands behind her back as she waited for him to speak.

He seemed reluctant to engage in casual conversation but he couldn't deny that he enjoyed Heather's company and so he decided to go along with it.

"I've already told you before."

"What, that you're some shapeshifting entity from another universe?" she said.

"Yes."

"There must be more than that, surely you've had some sort of life?"

"Well, I arrived on this planet a few billion years ago, it was a barren place back then. I had to rest until humans came along. Then finally I was able to feed."

"Wait, you're billions of years old? You must get really bored waiting around all those years." she said, slightly awe struck.

"How did you end up discovering that you feed on people's fear?" she added.

"It's just an innate, primal instinct." he said, flashing his signature grin.

"Don't you get lonely? Being all by yourself for so long." she said, looking intently into his golden orbs.

He took a few seconds to reply, clearly affected by her question, "what need would I have for company?"

"Everyone gets lonely, even entities from another universe I'm sure." she said, stepping closer to him.

"Enough questions about me, what about you?" Pennywise said, annoyed by her constant questions.

"Well, I'm from New York, my parents thought it would help my depression if we moved here away from the city, but I don't think it makes a difference."

"Depression? Isn't that being sad?" Pennywise asked curiously.

"In essence, yes. It's a mental condition that means I feel sad for a long period of time."

"So you're sad right now?"

"No, it comes and goes. But it always seems like there's a dark cloud following me." she said wistfully, casting her gaze to the ground.

Pennywise seemed genuinely concerned, raising his hand towards her for a second as though to give her a comforting touch.

"But anyway, my father is a surgeon. He used to work for a hospital in New York but he wants to open his own surgery in Derry."

"What was it like in New York?"

"It was great, there was so much to do, so many shops, and we had a big house in Manhattan. I do miss it a lot." she said with slight nostalgia.

Fifteen minutes passed and Heather and Pennywise listened closely to one another, learning about each another.

"You're a very good listener." Heathed smiled as they sat on the grass together.

"Um, thanks." he replied, less belligerent than she had ever seen him before.

"For someone who tried to eat me not that long ago, I must admit I really like you." she added, edging nearer to him.

"Well I...I suppose like you too." he spoke, finding it difficult to say.

"Maybe we should take this opportunity to deal with some unfinished business." she said with a smirk, shifting closer still until their faces were inches apart.

Some feeling unknown to him tugged at his heart. It was nothing like anything he had ever known. He couldn't possibly have fallen in love with this girl. This wasn't him. But the feeling overpowered his judgement, and without thinking he closed the space between them, planting his cherry lips onto hers. She leaned into the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck. His gloved hand dug into her hair, passionately forcing them closer.

They broke away, her green eyes gazing into his fiery amber ones. She ran her fingers through his soft, cloud like hair before she spoke, "I think I love you Pennywise."


	8. Chapter 8

Lying in her bed, Heather thought back to that moment with Pennywise. She closed her eyes, savouring the heavenly memory of his lips on hers, his hands running through her hair. She couldn't deny it, she had fallen helplessly in love with the killer clown. Oh how she wanted to live that moment again.

On cue as always, Pennywise appeared in her room, a stray beam of moonlight escaping through her curtains, illuminating his face.

"Come back for more?" she teased with a seductive grin.

He grinned, amused by her. She felt her heart race as he walked over to the side of her bed. She had worn her most immodest attire, a silk nightdress that bared a lot of skin, in case of such an appearance from Pennywise. It hadn't gone unnoticed, Heather felt his eyes bore into her flesh, scanning the contours of her body, watching her chest rise and fall as he stood over her.

"I can't stop thinking about you." she said, taking his hand in hers.

"Nor can I my dear." he rasped, sitting on the bed.

She leaned in and kissed him, feeling his hands caress her back. To Pennywise's surprise and disappointment she pulled away.

"I shouldn't love you." she said with a sigh of gloom.

"Why not?" he asked, frowning in anger and hurt.

"You're a child eating murderer, that's definitely not acceptable by societal standards. But I know that there's more to you than that...and frankly I can't help myself." she said, crashing her lips onto his once again.

His tongue explored the inside of her mouth as his hands fondled her slim body.

"Hmm, this smells better than fear." he said, taking in the scent of her arousal.

She pulled him down on top of her, the cool silk of his clown suit gently brushing against her bare legs. He felt a growing heat in his loins, something he had never felt before, but it was strangely enjoyable. His bulge pressed against her thigh, relieving her of the worry that he didn't have any genitals, being a shapeshifting entity and all. He shuddered as her hand reached forward and stroked his groin, making her grin at his vulnerability.

Pennywise looked in confusion as she beckoned him to sit, letting out a gasp as she opened the bottom half of his suit, exposing his large dick. It was a sickly white like the rest of him. She placed it in her mouth, her lips sliding slowly up and down it's impressive length, making him emit a low growl of pleasure. His gloved hand pushed down on her head, indicating that he was enjoying it. She sped up, making him growl louder, removing her lips before he could reach his peak.

She took off her nightdress, his eyes taking in her delicate form.

"I want you Penny." she drawled, her eyes full of lust.

He had seen people make love before as he tried to gain an understanding of humans but he never thought he would be doing it himself, and having such a desire to do so.

She began to unfasten his suit, only to be blocked by his hand.

"Oh come on, what have you got to hide?" she asked, raising a coy brow.

He gave a growl of defeat before allowing her to continue undressing him. She bit her lip as she gazed at his toned upper body, running her fingertips across his chest. Pennywise's eyes glowed with a fiery passion as he positioned himself by her entrance. She winced in pain as his massive size penetrated her, though the pain soon vanished, replaced with immense pleasure. He began slowly, unsure of what he was doing, but he soon got the hang of it and began to thrust harder and harder until the bed shook.

"Oh Pennywise!" she moaned, wrapping her legs around his waist.

He panted, letting out a breathy growl as unknown pleasure coursed through him. Her nails dug into his broad back as the both of them neared their climaxes. His eyes began to roll backwards, his teeth pointed and drool running onto her chest as he came nearer. He moaned loudly as his warm liquid shot out into her, overcoming to the intensity of his orgasm. They laid like that for a few moments, both of them coming down from their high before he pulled out.

"That was fun." she said as he shuffled next to her.

"It was." he said with a grin.

"Stay with me the night." she said, caressing his face.

Pennywise was silent, though she could see that he was hesitating.

"Please Penny."

"Ok." he said.

"Thank you." she said, giving him a kiss.

She pulled the covers over them, feeling contented as he wrapped his strong arms around her.

"Goodnight my dear." he said.


	9. Chapter 9

Heather slowly opened her eyes, squinting as the morning sun crept through the curtains. Suddenly last night's events came rushing back to her, making love to Pennywise, falling asleep in his arms, it had been everything she imagined it would be. She turned over, reaching a hand over to him but he was gone. Disappointed, she stepped out of bed and put some clothes on before heading downstairs for breakfast.

"Morning." she said with a smile as she walked to the dining table.

"Good morning honey. Someone's in a good mood." her mother said.

"I bet it's because of a boy!" Lucas teased.

"Oh shut up." she sneered.

"Now now you too." her mother gave Lucas a stern look.

"Though now you've mentioned it, have you been seeing a boy Heather? It would explain why you've been so secretive lately."

She didn't know how to answer. It was true yes, but she couldn't possibly tell them that he was a shapeshifting clown from another dimension.

"No I'm not...well, sort of, yes." she faltered.

"I told you!" Lucas exclaimed, nearly jumping out of his seat.

"Ooh, what's his name?" her mother gushed.

"I'm not telling." she stated, folding her arms in assertion.

"Oh come on! Does he live in Derry?"

"Yes."

"How old is he?"

She definitely couldn't tell them that. "He's 21" she lied, " now enough with the interrogation Mom."

"Sorry honey, I'm just excited for you. You haven't been this happy in ages. We'll have to invite him round for dinner sometime. Ooh, maybe tomorrow night if he isn't busy."

Heather nearly choked on her cereal, "are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Yes, why ever not?"

This was not going to end well, "I'm going up to my room." she said quickly making her way back upstairs.

Heather paced around the room trying to come up with a viable idea. She could never show Pennywise to them, they would think she was crazy. Maybe he could shape shift into a human? But he would definitely need to learn some manners. Suddenly he appeared by the window, walking over to a frantic Heather.

"You're stressed." he said, pointing out the obvious.

"Yeah, I'm in quite a predicament." she sighed.

"Why?"

"My mother asked if I was seeing a boy so I said yes and now she wants to meet you." she rambled.

Pennywise was dumbstruck, looking at her with bewilderment, "you didn't tell them about me did you?"

"No of course not. What am I supposed to say? Hey Mom, hey Dad, this is my boyfriend the killer alien clown."

He gave her an unamused frown, "well what do you suggest we do about this?"

"You could take a human form right?"

"Yes." he said, transforming into a handsome featured, brown haired man.

"Very nice," she smirked, "now what is your name going to be? Pennywise isn't exactly a normal name."

"When I am human I call myself Robert Gray."

"Ok. Robert, I like it. Now you need to learn some etiquette."

"I can't believe I let you make me do these things." he snarled.

"Oh don't be like that. Now, first of all you need to greet my parents. What are you going to say?"

"Um...hello." he said indifferently.

"You need to sound a bit more cheerful than that. Smile and say hello Mrs Prescott and maybe give her some flowers, that'll win her over. My dad on the other hand, well, he has very high expectations let's say, it takes a lot to impress him. Just make sure you shake his hand when you meet him and you won't go too far wrong." she instructed.

Pennywise looked completely baffled, trying his best to take in everything she was saying.

"Let me see that smile." Heather said.

With a groan of reluctance he gave a forced smile.

"No no no, it's got to look more genuine than that!"

"Ugh this is stupid! I don't see why I need to do all of this." he sulked.

"Well what else do you suggest we do? If you want to be with me then this has to happen."

He growled, "fine."

"Ok so we'll need to make up some sort of backstory for you. I already said that you're from Derry. Oh, what if they ask about your parents? You'll have to say they died when you were young. And what sort of job will you have? Um...a lawyer? At least my dad will approve. He'll like it if you say you went to Harvard University." she rambled on.

"This could take a while." Pennywise sighed.


	10. Chapter 10

"Now, you remember everything I told you right?" Heather said as she made Pennywise look presentable.

"Yes." he groaned.

"There, now you look like a proper gentleman." she smiled looking up and down at a stylishly suited Pennywise.

He tugged at his jacket, "why do I have to wear this?"

"You need to look smart and presentable for my parents." she said, fixing a stray hair.

"Promise that you'll make an effort, I want you to make a good impression." she added, taking his hand in hers.

"Yeah, yeah, I promise."

"Now remember the flowers, I love you." she gave him a kiss before he disappeared.

She then heard the doorbell ring downstairs.

"He's here Heather!" her mother rushed to the door, "hello, come in. You must be Heather's boyfriend." she ushered him inside.

"Yes, my name's Robert. Robert Gray," he began, "and these are for you Mrs Prescott." he handed her the boquet.

"Oh how kind of you Robert! These are beautiful, thank you." she beamed warmly.

"Heather never told me what a handsome man she had chosen." she added.

"Thank you Mrs Prescott." he said, managing a sincere enough smile.

"Oh call me Mary."

"So this is the man dating my daughter." Heather's father appeared, giving Pennywise a stern look.

"Yes, it's a pleasure to meet you Mr Prescott." he assertively reached his hand forward, unintimidated by him.

Her father raised a brow, eyeing Pennywise up and down before firmly shaking his hand.

"I trust you have been courteous and gentlemanly with my daughter?"

"Dad! I'm not a child. You don't own me." Heather asserted.

"Arthur, be nice to the boy." Heather's mother scolded.

"Now come on, dinner's ready." she beckoned everyone to the dining room.

"You're doing great." Heather whispered, giving Pennywise a smile of reassurance.

He said nothing, looking on as they walked to the dinner table, clearly unamused. Heather took a seat, looking to Pennywise to come and sit next to her.

"Why don't you sit over here with me Robert?" her father said.

"Oh leave him alone Arthur, he wants to sit next to Hetaher."

Pennywise gingerly took his seat, avoiding the harsh gaze of Heather's father in the process.

"So Robert, tell us about yourself." her mother said, the room silent, awaiting his response.

Pennywise tried to hide his discomfort, "uh, what would you like to know?"

"Well tell us about your life in Derry. Do you still live with your parents? Oh we'll have to meet them too!"

"No, my parents died when I was young." he replied as sorrowfully as he could.

She put a hand on her chest, "oh Robert, I'm so sorry. That must be so awful."

"It's alright, it was a long time ago. Anyway, I've lived in Derry all my life. I was raised by my aunt but she passed last year."

"So you went to the local school? I haven't heard good things about it. Do you know Heather was educated in one of the tops schools in New York?" her father said, peering over his clasped hands.

"Dad!" Heather exclaimed.

"I'm just letting him know what a sophisticated young woman he has the honour of dating."

"Arthur shush." her mother silenced him.

"I hope you like my spaghetti carbonara Robert, it's a favourite of Heather's." she added.

"It looks delicious." he gave a forced smile.

Pennywise looked down at the plate of food before him. He had eaten junk food before but he had never had a proper meal. Uncertainly, he picked up the knife and fork, making sure to remember everything Heather had taught him about dining etiquette. It seemed silly and trivial to him but he needed to appear as human as possible.

He took a mouthful, the foreign tasting food making him recoil slightly. It wasn't as bad as he thought. In fact after a few mouthfuls more he had to admit he quite liked it. Though it still didn't compare with fear flavoured flesh.

"Tell me Robert, what is your chosen career? Or do you not have one?" her father asked.

"I'm a lawyer, well, almost. I'm in my final year at Harvard, when I graduate I want to open my own law firm in Derry."

He raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Harvard? Very good. It's hard for a small town boy to get into such a prestigious university, you must've been quite exceptional." her father's opinion of him was quickly changed.

"Well I'd like to think so Mr Prescott." he said with a complacent grin.

"Heather's certainly made a good choice hasn't she Arthur? At this rate we might be hearing wedding bells in the future." her mother looked to Heather and Pennywise.

"Mom! We've hardly been together that long."

Pennywise choked on his food, his eyes wide with shock, "oh I don't know about that Mrs Prescott."

"Sorry you two, I guess I'm just a little too excited."

"So Robert, how did you meet Heather?" her father asked, swiftly changing the subject.

"Um, well..." he began, trying to think of an answer. Heather hadn't gone over this with him. What was he going to say?

"We met in the cafe. He just walked right over to my table and asked for my number." Heather interrupted.

"Yeah, that's right." he said with a nervous chuckle.

"Oh how nice. Now, I think we'll stop with all the questions now, it feels almost like an interrogation. Heather, come and help me clear away the plates dear." she said as she gathered the plates.

Pennywise felt uneasy at the thought of being alone in the room with Heather's father. How did he let a simple human make him feel so small? He was afraid of nothing. He embodied fear itself. Yet still here he sat with this man, feeling like a nervous schoolboy.

"I hope you haven't been, shall we say...indecorous with my daughter. I would expect any man dating my daughter to be nothing but a gentleman." he spoke with a raised brow.

"Excuse me Mr Prescott but I don't believe that's any of your business. Now I have been courteous to her, but she isn't a child. She can make her own decisions." Pennywise said, almost smirking as he watched Heather's father look in suppressed shock and disdain at him.

"While she is under my roof she will abide by my rules." he stated, his mouth curled into a frown.

"Does anyone want coffee?" Heather's mother reappeared along with Heather.

Pennywise stood up from his seat, "no thank you Mrs Prescott. I really should be going now, it's getting late."

"Oh are you sure? You can stay longer, it's no bother at all." her mother seemed disappointed.

"Thank you but I need to get going." he walked towards the front door.

"Well goodbye Robert. You're welcome any time to come over."

"Goodbye." Heather said, giving him a quick kiss.

"Goodbye my dear." he replied, his eyes almost flashing their usual golden as he took one last look at Heather and her family before closing the door behind him.


	11. Chapter 11

"He seemed like a very nice boy. Heather's definitely done a good job." her mother said as she got into bed.

"I don't know, there's something off about him. I can't quite put my finger on it." her father squinted his eyes in thought.

"Oh nonsense. You're suspicious about everyone."

"Come on Mary, you have to admit there was something suspicious about him. Maybe he's not who he says he is."

"Well, he did seem to hesitate when I asked him questions but I'm sure he was just nervous."

"Something's not right, I can feel it in my gut, and I'm going to find out what."

"Oh Arthur, why are you like this? You're grossly overthinking all of this."

"I'm just looking out for our daughter. Surely you don't want her dating a man who isn't who he says he is."

"Well no but I think you should just leave it. I'm going to sleep now, goodnight Arthur." she said sternly, putting out her lamp.

He sighed, "goodnight dear."

Pennywise didn't return to Heather's room that evening. In the morning she got dressed and went downstairs for breakfast as usual.

"Hey honey." her mother smiled.

"Hey mom." she said as she sat down.

"Your dad and I are gonna go and get the shopping later, do you wanna come?"

"Nah, I'll stay here. I might do some piano practise later."

"Ok, well I'm going to get ready."

An hour later her parents had left, leaving her and her brother alone in the house.

"I'm gonna go to Mike's house, see ya." Lucas said, making a quick departure.

"Well, it's just me." she said to herself with a sigh.

"And me." a raspy voice spoke in her ear.

"Penny, what a surprise." she smiled.

"So, d'ya think I made a good impression? I certainly think I did." he said, folding his arms.

"Yeah, you've definitely won my mom over but my dad not so much. But he doesn't really like anyone."

"You know when you left the room he asked if I had been 'indecorous' with you." he air quoted the word.

"Oh my god!" she put her palm to her head, "he is such an embarrassment."

"Forget about him. In fact, why don't we be a little indecorous right now?" he grinned, stepping close to Heather.

She immediately planted her lips onto his, feeling his tongue part her lips and explore her warm mouth. One hand pulled her closer while the other slithered down her back and caressed her leg. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he effortlessly lifted her to match his height. He spied the nearest surface, the kitchen table, and laid her down. Knowing his obvious intention, she pulled off her jeans and opened the bottom of his clown suit.

Without any warning, he forced his length inside of her. He began to thrust, slowly at first, then faster and faster until he pounded her at inhumane speed. She gripped him tightly as the pleasure in her loins grew intenser by the second. He groaned and grunted, this time not making an effort to hide his pleasure.

"Heather..." he drawled, his eyes rolling back.

He neared his climax, long, sharp nails ripping out of his gloves. With one final growl, he released his load. He then pulled himself out and fastened his suit, his eyes not leaving Heather's all the while. 

Heather got down from the table, dwarfed by Pennywise again. He embraced her and gave her a tender kiss on the forehead. 

"I love you." she spoke softly. 

"I - I...love you too." he managed to say.

"You really do?" she looked up in surprise at him.

"Yes." he said, his malevolent and angry guise replaced for a few moments by a look of gentle affection.

She leaned in to kiss him, "hey, who are you talking t—geez!" a voice spoke.

Pennywise disappeared in a flash, leaving Heather and a stunned Lucas behind. 

"What was that?" Lucas spoke again.

"What was what?" she spoke nonchalantly, "why are you back so soon?"

"I came to get something from my room. Now nevermind that, you were talking to someone."

"I just got off the phone."

"There was someone there, I saw them. You were talking to them."

"I think you must be seeing things Lucas. Why would there be someone in the house?"

"I know I saw someone! They just disappeared into thin air. They looked strange, they had funny makeup and clothes kind of like a...like a clown."

Heather's palms began to sweat, "well I wasn't taking to anyone so your eyes must be deceiving you. All that candy can't be doing you any good."

"I know what I saw! I don't care if you disagree!" he exclaimed before he left again.

She sighed in frustration, "shit."


	12. Chapter 12

"Help me carry the bags in will you dear." Heather's mother said, handing some shopping bags to Heather.

"Mom! I saw someone in the house, they were there for a second and then they just disappeared. Heather won't believe me." Lucas rushed in.

"They disappeared? Just like that? I think you must have imagined it sweetie. All those computer games, they must be doing things to your brain."

"Ugh! Why won't anyone believe me!" Lucas groaned as he stormed out of the room.

"You didn't see anyone did you Heather?" she asked.

"Oh no, I didn't see anybody. I would have definitely noticed if there was." she replied, managing to keep her cool.

"Good. So, has Robert contacted you since yesterday?"

"Oh, um, he's got a lot of uni work so he's going to be pretty busy for a while. But he'll call me when he can." she lied.

"Well let him know he's always welcome to come around."

"Will do, I'm gonna go up to my room now." she said, making a quick exit.

"Ok dear."

Heather let out a sigh of frustration once she shut her bedroom door behind her. She knew her brother wouldn't just drop it and move on. He would take every given opportunity to test her lie. 

"What are we gonna do about him?" a familiar raspy voice spoke.

"I don't know. He's not gonna let go of this. He'll figure it out sooner or later." she paced back and forth.

"That's not happening." Pennywise stated.

"You shouldn't be here, he'll try and spy on us I bet."

"Can't you threaten him into silence?"

"That's only going to seem even more suspicious."

"Well you'd better figure something out. I need to feed now, I'll see you later my dear." he disappeared instantly.

She flopped onto her bed, a dull ache in her head from all the stress.

Suddenly the door was kicked open, "I heard someone in here." Lucas said with great conviction.

"Your little game is getting pretty tiring Lucas. I'm not taking to anyone."

"You're the one playing a game! Stop lying Heather. You're speaking to that clown again."

"Ok firstly, why would there be a clown in the house and secondly why the hell would I be talking to them?"

"I don't know, but I know what I saw and I'm going to find out what your hiding." he asserted before he ran out the room.

Several hours passed and it was time for dinner. Heather sat at the table, trying to avoid the condemning glare of her brother.

"Now listen up you two, your father and I were thinking we should visit New York sometime." her mother spoke.

"Yes! I can see Matthew and Billy and all my other friends again!" Lucas exclaimed.

"Heather I was thinking maybe you could take Robert along too. If he's free of course."

"Are you sure that's wise dear? She hardly knows the boy." her father spoke.

"Stay out of it Arthur, so Heather, what do you think?"

"Um, maybe. I'll see if he's around."

"Wonderful."

Taking Pennywise to New York, that probably isn't a good idea. How could she take him if he doesn't have a passport? He didn't have any sort of identity. But she couldn't leave him behind, the trip wouldn't be nearly as fun. Surely it couldn't be that bad an idea.

That night, she changed and got into bed as usual. As she pulled the covers over her she felt a pair of strong arms snake around her waist. She turned to face him, "hello again."

He stroked her face, "hello my love."

"I have a question for you." she said.

"Oh?"

"We're going to New York next week and I was wondering if you wanted to come along."

"You want me to go with you?" he raised a brow.

"Yeah, why not? I can't have any fun without you there."

"Well I suppose it'll be good for me to get out of this town for once."

"I think you'll enjoy it. You haven't ever been shopping have you?"

"What do you think."

"There is one pretty big issue though."

"Which is?"

"You don't have a passport. And since you don't have any identification you can't apply for one."

"Well how am I supposed to go then?"

"I have a friend in New York who deals with this sort of thing. He can make you a fake passport. He does a really good job, you can't tell it from the real thing."

"That doesn't sound legal."

"I didn't think you were one with much regard for the law."

"Touché."

"This is gonna be great! You and me together in New York." she smiled, nestling into his chest.

"Did your parents agree to this? I doubt your dad would want me to come."

"It was my mom's idea to invite you. And I don't care if my dad wants you there or not. I didn't think you cared either."

"Well in that case, I shall look forward to our trip."

"I can't wait!" she smiled as she closed her eyes to sleep.


	13. Chapter 13

"All packed?" her mother stood at the foot of the stairs.

"Yep." Heather said as she walked down with her bag.

"Is Robert gonna be here soon? We need to leave in the next ten minutes."

"Yeah, he should be coming any time now."

The doorbell suddenly rang, "speak of the devil." her mother spoke as she headed towards the front door.

"Come in Robert." she smiled.

"Have you ever been to New York before?"

"No, I haven't."

"Really? Well, I think you'll love it. Arthur, Lucas, are you ready yet?" she called up the stairs.

Lucas dragged his bag down the stairs, "I'm coming."

Soon they were all ready to go and called a cab to take them to the airport. Half an hour later they had arrived and made their way to customs.

"This passport better work." Pennywise muttered to Heather.

"I'm sure it will." she gave an assured smile though she was growing increasingly worried about his fake passport not working.

Lucas and Heather went first, handing their passports over to be scanned. Pennywise went next, exchanging an apprehensive glance with Heather as he waited for the machine to accept or decline. They both breathed a sigh of relief as the light turned green and he walked through the barrier. Once they had scanned their passports and had their bags checked they made their way to the first class lounge.

"Where are we going now?" Pennywise asked Heather.

"The first class lounge, my dad got us first class tickets so we get to go in here."

"Sounds fancy. I'm guessing first class is the best."

"Yeah, better seats, better food, and we get to board the plane first."

They spent the next hour and a half in the lounge before it was finally time to board the plane.

"I'm sure you two will want to sit by yourself so why don't you sit in the two seats by the window and me, Lucas and your father will sit in the three in the middle."

"Sure." Heather said before they took their seats.

"You excited?" she asked giddily.

"Uh, I guess so." Pennywise said.

There was a chime as the seat belt sign lit up.

Pennywise looked to Heather as she fastened her seatbelt. He looked down at his own and after some struggle managed to do his own. The flight attendant went through the usual safety procedures before the plane began to move forward. Pennywise looked frantically out the window and back at Heather as the plane gained speed and took off. She smiled as she saw his eyes widen and his jaw drop as the plane emerged through the clouds.

"Would you like any drinks?" the flight attendant asked with a smile.

"Can I get a Pepsi please?" Heather spoke.

"And for sir?"

Pennywise had no idea what any of the drinks were called, "um, I'll have one too."

Two hours later they had arrived in New York. Pennywise was awe struck as they stepped out of the airport and into the bustling city. He had never seen so many people and such tall buildings. They took a cab to The Plaza Hotel where they would be staying the week.

"Do you have a reservation?" the receptionist asked.

"Yes, Arthur Prescott." her father said.

The receptionist handed them their keys, "ah yes, and since you booked the suites you get complementary butler service. Enjoy your stay."

They then took the elevator to their floor.

"We'll take this room and Heather, you and Robert can take the other room."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? Letting them have a room to themselves?" her father spoke, glancing at Robert.

"Well what else do you suggest we do? Leave Robert all alone in the room?"

He gave a reluctant grunt of defeat.

"Good, now let's get settled."

Heather and Pennywise stepped into their grand suite.

"This must've cost a lot." he said as he looked around the large, opulently decorated room.

"Yeah, it did. But isn't it great?"

"I'm not saying it isn't."

She threw herself onto the large, luxurious bed, "I can't believe we have a room all to ourselves. Imagine it, a week without having to worry about any unwelcome interruptions, Lucas in particular."

"And you know what that means." he smirked as he sat on the bed next to her.

She leaned in to kiss him when suddenly her mother peered around the door, "ready to go out?"


	14. Chapter 14

Pennywise looked out of the cab window as they drove through the city. It was all so new to him, he never knew places like this existed. In his time on Earth he had never left Derry's simple and quiet surroundings. He had to admit he was fascinated by it all.

"So where are we going first?" Heather's father asked.

"Well I want to go shopping, and I'm sure Heather does too." her mother said.

"I don't care what we do as long as I get to go to Toys R Us." Lucas said.

They got out of the cab and it didn't take long for them to find their first shop.

"Come on." Heather said as she dragged Pennywise inside.

He looked around at the numerous rails of clothes and the customers looking through their vast number with enthusiasm. He didn't quite understand why humans liked to buy so many things, surely they didn't need them all.

"Hey, do you think this looks good on me?" Heather asked, holding a dress against her.

"You're really asking me this?" he looked at her with half lidded eyes.

"Well just cause you're a shapeshifting entity from another universe doesn't mean you don't have any fashion sense."

He smirked, "fair enough. Get it if you want it, but I must admit I don't really like the pattern."

"Well I'll leave it then." she hung it back up.

"Seen anything you want?" her mother walked over.

"Nah, this shop's not that great."

"I think we'll move on then. Barneys isn't far, you'll definitely find a lot in there."

"What's Barneys?" Pennywise asked Heather.

"Only the best department store in New York."

He nodded in acknowledgment but he didn't really know what she was talking about. Five minutes later they approached the tall stately building. Pennywise didn't know much about people's lifestyles but he could tell this was a luxurious place to shop.

Heather's mother looked at her watch, "ok, why don't we all meet back here in two hours at three o'clock?"

"Sure." Heather said.

"Can I go round by myself?" Lucas said.

"No, you're only thirteen you're going round with me and your father. I'm guessing you two want to shop without us?"

"Yeah, that was the plan."

"Well I'll see you two later." she said before Lucas dragged her away.

"What do you want to look at?" Pennywise asked.

"I don't know, there's too much to choose from. Is there anything you want to look at?"

"Me? Well I suppose I could do with more clothes if I'm going to be in this form more often."

"Great, let's go."

Pennywise was overwhelmed by the vast choice of different items, from gloves to tuxedos. Heather decided to veer him towards the shirts.

"See anything you like?"

"Um, I don't really know what I should be looking for."

"Well there must be something you like, just pick one that takes your fancy."

He looked at all the different colours and patterns, "uh, well, I think I like this." he picked up a light blue shirt.

"That's nice, any others you want as well?"

"This one?" he held up a short sleeved pink shirt.

"Great, now what else can we get you." she linked her arm with his.

"Would you care to try this new men's fragrance?" a blonde sales woman spoke with a dazzling smile.

"Uh, sure."

Pennywise gingerly extended his wrist, looking curiosity as the woman sprayed it. He brought it to his nose and sniffed, letting out a mighty sneeze all over the sales woman. She grimaced as she wiped the spray off her face.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry." Heather said before making a swift exit.

"What was that?!" she spoke with hushed anger.

"Sorry but I can't help sneezing. And that stuff reeked."

"Just make sure you cover your mouth in future." she sighed.

The two hours went by quickly and by the end of it Pennywise and Heather had amassed a large number of shopping bags. They made their way to the front door to meet her parents.

"What did you get?" her mother asked.

"Robert and I got a ton of clothes. What about you?"

"Pretty much the same for us. I also got some make up."

"Where are we going now?"

"I still haven't been to Toys R Us. I want some new action figures." Lucas spoke.

"Lucas, you're 13, aren't you too old for those?"

"I'm not! All my friends have them." he asserted.

"Well fine, let's go then."

Later that evening after dinner they went back up to their rooms to relax.

"Have you had fun then?" Heather asked.

"Yes I did. I'm starting to see the appeal of shopping. Maybe you'll have me hooked by the end of the week."

Heather walked to the window, "it's so great to be back in New York. It's just like old times." she looked out at the illuminated buildings with longing in her eyes.

"I don't know why you would want to leave all this for Derry. But I'm glad you did, otherwise I would never have met you. You are glad we're together right?" he walked over and put his arms around her.

"Yes of course I am, I just miss it so much. But I'd rather be in Derry with you than in New York without you." she turned around and looked into his eyes.

"You're the one that I love." she kissed him.

He deepened the kiss, pulling her closer to him. She combed her fingers through his brown hair and pressed her body against his. They edged towards the bed, Pennywise picking her up as though she were light as a feather and tossing her onto it. He crawled on top of her, burning intensity in his eyes.

She pulled him in and kissed him again, unfastening his shirt and throwing it aside. She then began to undress herself until she was left in her underwear. He planted tender kisses along her neck, his teeth gently grazing her, his warm breath against her flesh. She closed her eyes for a moment, opening them to see Pennywise had reverted back to his clown form.

"I thought you liked this form better." he spoke.

"I do, I don't know why." she laughed.

His hands snaked up the contours of her thighs and pulled off her panties. He didn't break eye contact as he lowered his head between her thighs. She let out a gasp as his tongue lapped over her womanhood, a pleasant heat arising in her loins. His licks became more rapid, bringing her to her climax. He raised his head and clambered back on top of her, licking her viscous liquid from his lips.

He then pushed himself inside her, taking slow thrusts before increasing speed. His fingers dug into her hair as he moaned softly, the familiar pressure slowly building in his lower abdomen. She arched her back and threw her head back as she neared her peak. He growled as he reached his climax before pulling himself out and flopping onto the bed next to her.

She shuffled closer to him and put a hand on his chest. He put his arms around her, resting his chin on her head.

"I love you so much." she whispered.

He lovingly caressed her face, "I love you too."


	15. Chapter 15

Heather fluttered her eyes open to the bright sun beaming through the window. She smiled as she looked over to see Pennywise sleeping soundly in the form of Robert. He really was very handsome. His chiselled cheekbones, slim button nose, plump rosy lips. She was almost jealous. 

"Morning sleepyhead." she tapped his nose.

He stirred, slowly sitting up, "morning hun."

"You slept well I see."

"Yeah, I could really get used to this whole sleeping thing. I see why humans like it so much."

"Maybe I'll be able to domesticate you. Turn you into a gentleman." she smirked.

"I don't think so." he spoke, looking at her with a predatory gaze.

He got up from bed and made his way to the wardrobe, picking out some clothes.

"You're getting better and better at being fashionable." she said as she watched him put on his pants and shirt.

"Well I'm glad you think so." he walked over to her and hugged her from behind.

The smell of her flesh crept up his nostrils, arising a hunger he had been suppressing for so long. All these weeks he hadn't consumed a single morsel of human flesh, he was starving. Her skin was intoxicating, continuously arousing his urge to feed. His eyes bored into her skin as the blood pumped in her vein. He had no desire to hurt her, he wanted her to keep on living but the temptation began to grow, abhorring him that he could ever have such an impulse.

"Are you ok?" she turned around.

His vision blurred, sound growing muffled.

"Penny, what's going on?"

He began to feel normal again, his hunger calmed and his senses clear.

"I'm fine." he said.

"You don't look fine to me."

"I am, don't worry. Now let's get breakfast."

After they had eaten Pennywise sat and thought about what he should do. He needed to feed, wanted to feed, but for the first time in his life something plagued his conscience, disinclining him from killing without a second thought, and he knew what it was.

His love for Heather overpowered his malevolent nature, making him more forgiving, more gentle. Heather tried to wean him onto human food and he was beginning to form some liking for it but he still couldn't survive without fear. He had to do it. For his own survival.

"I'm just heading out for a bit." he said.

That seemed unusual for him, "oh, ok. Where are you going?"

"Just around the block, I wanna stretch my legs a bit."

"Well I can go with you."

"Nah I'm fine, stay here."

"Ok, well, see ya."

He gave a quick, forced smile before closing the door behind him, getting in the elevator and leaving the hotel. This wasn't going to be simple. There weren't many people in Derry so there was never anyone around when he killed but New York was a very different story. How was he going to get away with it?

He walked along street after street until he came across an alleyway. There was a child on the ground playing with a toy car, around seven or eight he thought. This was his opportunity. He looked around him, there was no one near. In an instant he transformed into Pennywise, creeping silently over to the boy.

"Hello there." he put on a cheery persona.

The boy looked up curiously at him, "who are you?"

"Why I'm Pennywise the dancing clown." he gave a jolt, shaking his bells.

The boy gave a chuckle, "you're funny. What are you doing here?"

"You looked lonely over there so I thought you'd like a balloon." he said, pulling out a balloon from behind his back.

"Cool! How do you do that!"

He tapped the side of his nose with a grin, sending the child into a fit of giggles. His stomach growled, begging to be satisfied, to feel nourishment again. His eyes burned a fiery gold, drool cascading from his stern mouth. The boy's laughter ceased as he cowered beneath the tall, sinister clown.

"I should go inside now." he spoke, standing up to walk away.

Pennywise grabbed his arm as he growled.

"Let go!" he tried to pull away.

His teeth transformed into razor sharp points and his mouth opened to thrice it's normal size. Pennywise forced him onto the ground, holding down his thrashing limbs. The boy opened his mouth to scream but was silenced by a large gloved hand. His eyes were wide as Pennywise bit into his torso, pulling away a mouthful of flesh.

His body tensed as unbearable coursed through him. He took another bite, this time biting off his left arm. A large pool of blood spread, flowing into every crevice and crack along the alleyway. The boy's flailing began to decrease, ceasing completely after the third bite. Pennywise tore away chunk after chunk, trying to satisfy his insatiable appetite. Once he was finished the boy was unrecognisable. His limbs were gone, his torso was completely hollowed and his face was bare of flesh.

He looked down at his work, an unpleasant feeling tugging at his heart. He didn't want to think of how Heather would react if she knew. She had tried so hard to make him a worthy man. She would be appalled by what he had done. He turned back into Robert, making himself invisible to those around him as he made his way back. Suddenly he heard a blood curdling scream and inconsolable sobbing. For the first time he felt the slightest amount of guilt. Knowing that he had taken an innocent child's life, knowing that he had taken away the joy from someone's life forever. It made him feel a way he never thought he could.

Why was this happening to him? Why did he care what Heather would think? He was a being of consumption. He lived only to appease his appetite without giving it a second thought. So why did it seem so unappealing all of a sudden? Was he becoming, dare he say it...human?


	16. Chapter 16

"Hey you're back." Heather said.

"Yeah." he replied as he shut the door behind him.

"See anything?"

He tried to keep his cool, "nah, nothing much."

Heather sat on the bed and turned on the TV. The news was on.

"We've just received reports of a young boy brutally murdered near Central Park. Eight year old Danny Bradford was found outside his home with missing limbs and a mutilated body. It appears to be an act of cannibalism but experts say that a human is not capable of causing such damage." the news reporter spoke.

Heather had a suspicious feeling it could be Pennywise. He hadn't fed in ages, she couldn't blame him. Though she thought she had been able to change him. She wasn't angry, he had to eat like everyone else. She was just disappointed that her attempts were futile.

Pennywise looked uneasy, his eyes shifting around the room. He could tell that Heather knew it was him. He worried it would change things between them, that she would be distant towards him. For the first time he felt shame for what he was, for what he had done. He couldn't believe he had got himself in this position in the first place. Falling in love with a human. Once it would have seemed completely absurd to him, but now it had became his reality.

She looked at him and he looked back at her. No words were needed for her to understand that it was his doing. He walked over to her and climbed onto the bed. He tenderly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him.

"I'm not mad. I understand." she spoke softly.

He felt some relief to hear her say that.

"I didn't wanna do it. I tried to fight the urge. I was so hungry."

"I know Penny. You can't help what you are." she looked into his eyes and smiled weakly.

"I...I want to stop but I don't think I can."

"Well you can try. And even if you can't it doesn't change how I feel about you." she put a hand on his face.

"I love you."

"I love you too," she kissed him, "now we should start packing, we're leaving tomorrow."

The next day, they made their way back to JFK airport. After two hours they had arrived back in Maine and drove back to Derry.

"Well I hope you enjoyed the trip Robert." Heather's mother said as they entered the house.

"Oh it was great. I think I'd wanna go back again sometime."

"Well maybe you and Heather could go by yourselves sometime."

"Maybe."

"Robert, can you help me with my stuff." Heather said.

"Sure." he said before walking up the stairs.

"I miss us having a room to ourselves." she said.

"Me too."

She put her suitcase down and walked over to him, "are you gonna go back to the sewers?"

"Yeah, it's my home I suppose."

"One day we'll have a home together. Away from here." she put her arms around his neck.

He flashed a quick smile, "I think I should go now. I'll see you soon." he kissed her.

"No, stay for the evening." she pleaded.

"Well...ok, I'll stay."

"Great!" she smiled, "I'll go tell mom, stay here."

He sat on her bed as he awaited her return, contemplating the past two months he had experienced. He felt an odd sense of fulfilment, complete satisfaction. He thought he knew what it meant to be fulfilled but now he saw that he hadn't known it till now. All the innumerable years he had lived he had spent them alone. He never wished for company, for he had never known what it was to not be alone. But now he didn't think he could ever go back to the life he had lived for so long. Now he had a family, Heather's family. And he didn't want to lose it.


	17. Chapter 17

Heather's father browsed through his emails while the rain outside battered the window. His mind wandered until the thought of Robert entered his mind. He did like the boy, he was handsome, smart, and went to Harvard. Certainly a good choice compared to the other boys his age in Derry. But he couldn't help feeling as though there was something not quite right about him, that something didn't quite add up.

Suddenly he had a thought. Yes, this would test whether he was lying or not. He had an old friend who worked at Harvard, he could tell him if Robert was a real student. He dialled his number and waited for him to pick up.

"This is Bernard Walker, associate director of finance at Harvard University, how may I help you?"

"Hey Bernard its Arthur."

"Oh Arthur! It's great to hear from you, I haven't heard from you in months."

"Yes, we'll have to meet up sometime. I was calling to ask a small favour of you."

"Sure, ask away."

"Is there a Robert Gray enrolled at Harvard?"

"I can check, might I ask why you're enquiring?"

"Well my daughter is going out with this boy and I think he might not be who he says he is."

"Ah, the overprotective father sheltering his daughter from the opposite sex. Well I'll see what I can find, I'll have to put you on hold for a minute."

He waited as Bernard searched through their records.

"Well well, it seems your fatherly instincts were correct. There's no Robert Gray on the system. Well, if that's all I'll be going now, I have a big pile of paperwork to go through."

"Yes, that's all, thank you Bernard."

"Anytime Arthur, see ya." he hung up.

"The little bastard." Arthur said to himself.

"Arthur, I called you three times. Lunch is ready." Heather's mother walked in.

"You'll never guess what I just found out." he said.

She sighed, "what is it Arthur?"

"Pretty boy isn't as perfect as he may seem."

"What are you talking about?" she furrowed her brows at him.

"I just called Bernard, they don't have a Robert Gray on the system. He lied to us."

"What? That can't be right. He's a nice boy, he wouldn't lie about that. I'm sure there's just some technical error."

"I don't see how it couldn't be right. Face it Mary, our daughter is dating a fraud."

"Arthur, why are you like this? Whether he is or isn't a Harvard student, and I'm sure he is, he makes our daughter happier than we've ever seen her. Do you really want to take that away from her?"

"No but I've had a gut feeling there wasn't something right about that boy since we met him. And now even though we have incontrovertible evidence that he's not who he says he is you want to believe that he's this perfect, well rounded young man."

"I won't hear another word on the matter, now come downstairs and eat your lunch." she spoke sternly.

The next day Heather was walking back to her house with Pennywise.

"I'll see you round." he said.

"Why don't you come in for a minute or two."

"Well, ok." he said before they went in.

"Oh hi Robert." her mother said as she walked down the stairs.

Her father walked out of the living room, giving Pennywise a poker faced glare as he spied him across the hallway.

"Robert, can I talk to you?" he said.

Pennywise and Heather exchanged an uncertain glance.

"Uh sure." he gingerly followed him back into the living room.

How could a measly human make him feel so weak?

"What is it?' Pennywise asked.

"Well I have a friend who works at Harvard and I called him to enquire about you, but he couldn't find you on the system. Do you know why that is?" he looked at him expectantly.

Pennywise had no idea what to say. All he had said about being in Harvard was just dictated from Heather.

"That's odd," he put on a puzzled expression, "must be some sort of glitch."

"Hmm, that doesn't sound right to me. It's ok, you can admit it."

"Admit what?" apprehension grew within him.

"Oh come on, don't play dumb with me." his calm and collected facade was wearing thin.

"Wait, you think that I'm not a real student?" he put on his best offended face.

"Well if you were a real student you would be in the system."

"Mr Prescott, I must admit I am shocked you would think I lied to you."

"I suspected there was something up with you when I first met you. You may have fooled Heather and her mother but you haven't fooled me."

"How can I prove to you that I'm not lying?"

"Show me your letter of acceptance."

He had no idea what that was, "alright then."

"Come over tomorrow and then we'll see what sort of a man you really are."

He exchanged one last austere glance with her father before he left the room. That man really knew how to make him livid beyond what he thought possible. He just couldn't keep his nose in his own affairs. Under other circumstances he would've eaten him by now. But he was Heather's father and he needed to prove to him that he is who he says he is. Or else their relationship might be in jeopardy.


	18. Chapter 18

What the hell was he supposed to do? He hoped Heather would know. If she didn't, he was screwed.

"Oh, hey." she said as he appeared in the room.

"Ugh, I cannot stand that man!" he grumbled.

"What's he done now?"

"He's cottoned on to our lie. He called up some friend from that place, Harvard or whatever it's called, and now he knows I'm not a student. He asked to see my acceptance letter."

"Shit. My dad can be a real pain in the ass."

"What are we gonna do?"

"I'll ask my friend, the one who made your passport, if he can do it."

"Good, but I need it for tomorrow."

"Crap, well I'll message him now. I hope he's at home."

She turned on her laptop while Pennywise waited on her bed, making his boredom obvious. Once it was on, she went into her emails and began to type:

Hey Jared,

I was wondering if you could make me an acceptance letter. It's for the same guy. I need it for tomorrow though so I urge you to be quick.

Thanks :-)

"Well I've sent him an email, I just hope he replies soon." she said.

Fortunately, ten minutes later she heard a ding from her laptop and saw an email notification. She opened it up and read:

Hey Heather, it's good to hear from you again.

I can make the letter, just tell me the university. If it's urgent I'll send it to you to print. Might I ask who is this mysterious (and shady) boy?

Jared

"He says he can do it." she turned to Pennywise.

"Good."

She typed her reply:

Thanks, your a life saver. It's for Harvard. He isn't deceitful, just, shall we say...superficial.

Thanks again, Heather.

Two hours later, the letter had been sent and Heather printed it out.

"There, now take care of it." she handed it to him.

"Uh, thanks." he said awkwardly.

The next day, Pennywise returned, the letter in his pocket as he knocked on the door.

Heather's father answered, "ah, so you've returned. You have the letter I presume?"

"Yes, I do." he said, pulling the letter out.

"Let me see." he took his reading glasses out of his shirt pocket.

Pennywise stood and watched with complacency as he read over it, checking that every detail was correct and authentic.

"Well, I do apologise Robert. It appears I was wrong." he said, showing him the first shred of warmth he had ever given him.

"Apology accepted, but I still can't believe you thought I lied."

"I can be a little too cynical. My wife always tell me so," he gave a chuckle, "well, it was good talking with you son. I'll be seeing you again soon I imagine." he shook his hand.

"Bye Mr Prescott." he smiled, though this time without having to pretend.

"Bye Robert."

He began the walk back to the sewers, thinking intently as he did. He called him son, like he was part of the family. It really struck a part of him deep down. Of course he had never known what it was like to have a father, he had hardly any concept of what it really meant. But now it seemed he did. He thought he hated the man, though now it seemed he had some profound importance to him. He was a part of his new reality, a reality that he cherished and wanted to preserve no matter what.


	19. Chapter 19

❤️ Valentine’s Day Special ❤️

"Hey Penny." Heather said, seeing him appear in the room.

He said nothing and sat on the bed next to her.

"You know what day it is tomorrow don't you?" she twirled a strand of his voluminous auburn hair. 

He looked at her blankly, "how would I know?"

"It's Valentine's Day." 

"And this concerns me how?"

"You've really never heard of it?"

"Nope."

"Well, it's just a day to celebrate love. You give each other cards and presents and just enjoy spending time with each other." she nestled close to him.

"Another stupid human holiday." he rolled his eyes.

"Oh don't be such a cynic. We should do something for Valentine's Day." 

He didn't seem eager, "like what?" 

"I dunno, we could go out somewhere, or we could just stay at home. And I'll get you a present." 

"Then you'll just be expecting me to get you one too. Who came up with this daft excuse to spend money? I think it's all pointless." 

"Well you love me don't you? And surely you want an excuse to show how much you care?"

"I do love you but I think it's all so unnecessary."

"Oh come on, it'll be fun."

"Fine, but don't expect miracles."

"Yay, I love you." she smiled, pecking him on the cheek.

Later that day, while Heather and her mother went to look for Valentine's presents, Pennywise went to speak to her father, since he had no idea what sort of thing to buy Heather. He knocked on the open door of his study and waited.

"Ah Robert, come in my boy," he beckoned him inside, "what brings you round?"

"Well I'm a little stumped on what to buy Heather for Valentine's Day." 

"You're leaving it rather late, it's tomorrow." 

"I know, but I've been so busy I forgot all about it."

"Have you thought of anything at all?"

"Uh, not really. I, uh, wanted to get a thoughtful present." 

"Well that's very honourable of you. Why don't you think of things she likes?" 

"Um," he thought hard, "well she likes playing piano."

"Then you should get her something piano related."

Then he had an idea, "yeah, I think I know the perfect thing."

"Great, I'm glad you're putting some thought into this. Most boys would just buy something meaningless. Well, I'll see you round." he gave a quick smile before he turned back round to do his work. 

That evening Heather returned home from shopping. She was surprised to be greeted by a trail of petals leading up the stairs. Was this Pennywise's doing? 

"Oh, I think I'll leave you to it dear." her mother gave a knowing smile. 

She followed the trail up the stairs to her bedroom, where Pennywise stood with a large bouquet of roses. The only light came from the many candles around the room. 

"Oh Penny, did you do all of this?" she was in awe.

"Yeah, I know it's pretty cheesy but I figured that's what this day is all about."

"It's wonderful," she said as she took the roses, "so much for don't expect miracles." 

"Well, I'm full of surprises." he smirked, "here, I got you a little something." he handed her a music book.

"Oh my god, I love it! You remembered how much I wanted this one. Oh thank you baby, this is so thoughtful." she tightly embraced him. 

"Glad you like it." 

"Now for your present." she handed him a small box wrapped in a ribbon.

He untied the ribbon and opened it, "what is it?"

"It's a watch. You use it to tell the time, though really they're more for show. It's a Rolex, they're very desirable and expensive." 

"Thanks hun, it's great." he gave a smile.

"And there's a little something on the back."

He turned it over and read the engraving:

My heart is, and always will be, yours. 

"I got that from Sense and Sensibility, I'm quite the bookworm as you already know. You don't think it's too corny?" 

"Maybe a bit, but I love it." he kissed her.

"Now for the fun part." he added with a smirk as they kissed deeper, edging towards the bed. 

"I love you so much." she said as she laid under him, gently stroking his face. 

"I love you too," he tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, "you know, maybe I was a tad harsh about Valentine's Day. I can sort of see the point now."

"I knew you'd change your mind. I like this new you. Kind, thoughtful, sweet Pennywise. But don't change too much, I still like rough, animalistic Pennywise."

"Me? Sweet? Well, we can't have that." he said with a playful grin, before he kissed her again.

————

Author's note: yeah I don't know what the fuck that was either. Oh well, it's Valentine's Day!


	20. Chapter 20

It was a mild, dry day as Heather took the rubbish out into the bins outside. She hummed to herself as she put the bin bags inside, about to turn and go back into the house. She was then snapped out of her thoughts as the raspy growl of a large petrol engine resonated through the quiet street. A blue sports car pulled up outside her house and she let out a gasp as she realised who it was.

A boy Heather's age stepped out, clad in sunglasses, chinos and a pale pink polo shirt. His slick, dark blonde hair glistened with hair gel as he swaggered over to her.

"Hey Heather, how have you been?" he opened his arms wide, going to embrace her.

She pushed him away, "what the hell are you doing here Calvin? And how did you find me?"

"I came to see you babe, and I asked your old friends where you moved to. This place is a dump, why would you leave New York for this?" he grimaced.

"You're not welcome here, now go back to New York and leave me alone." she turned away and began to walk back.

He stepped in front of her, "hey, why are you being like this? I come all the way from New York to see you and this is the welcome I get?"

"You seriously think I'm gonna welcome you with open arms? Not after what you did to me."

"That was a stupid mistake and I'll never stop regretting it. I've changed baby, come on, gimme another chance." he touched her arm.

"Don't call me that. You think I'm gonna take you back after I caught you sleeping with another girl? You're even dumber than I thought. I don't know what I was thinking when I decided to date you." she walked up the steps, about to open the front door.

"Hey, aren't you gonna let me in? I've come all this way."

She thought for a few moments, "ok fine, but I'm not letting you in the house. Go round the side and into the shed. I'll bring you something to eat."

"The shed? Oh come on!"

"It's that or you can go."

"Ok fine." he walked around the side.

Heather breathed a sigh of relief as she entered the house and walked up to her room. She had dealt with him, for now at least. She was greeted with the sight of Pennywise sprawled on her bed.

"Miss me?" he said.

"Hey hun," she walked over to him, "listen, I have a little problem."

"What is it?" he asked as he sat up.

"Well, er...my ex just showed up, I let him in the shed for now but I don't know what to do with him. I tried to send him away but he was adamant that he wasn't leaving."

His eyes glowed a sinister gold, "why is he here?"

"He...he wants me back."

He growled, "you're mine, I'll kill him if he tries to take you away from me."

"It's ok, I would never take him back. He's a lowly, cheating, two faced son of a bitch."

"What are you gonna tell your parents?"

"I don't know, I can't really hide him from them. And of course he'll turn on the charm to beguile my parents. His parents are rich and his dad is a trader so my dad's pretty fond of him. But all that money won't buy him any class."

Pennywise felt a little worried, he had so much to compete with. What if he could manipulate Heather into leaving him?

"I suppose I'd better go and see how he's doing. I'll be back real soon."

He grabbed her wrist, "don't let him fool you."

"You don't need to worry Penny, I love you and only you." she gave him a peck on the cheek before she hurried downstairs.

She grabbed an apple and a bottle of water from the kitchen and went out to the garden. Calvin sat up from the stool in the corner as Heather opened the shed door.

"Here." she quickly handed them to him.

"Couldn't you have made me a sandwich?" he moaned.

"Beggars can't be choosers," she began, "look, you can't stay here long. I want you gone by seven."

"Hey, I came all the way from New York to see you and you're telling me I have to go as soon I get here? Can't we discuss this over dinner."

"No Calvin, I'm not interested."

"I bet there isn't a good stock of boys in this little town. I feel sorry for you, all on your own."

"Actually I'm seeing someone. His name is Pe — Robert, and he's ten times the man you'll ever be."

He was thrown by her answer, "well I ain't afraid of him."

"Whatever, just get back inside." she pushed him towards the shed.

"Hey, Mr Prescott!" he spotted her father and walked over.

"No, no, no!" she muttered to herself.

"Calvin? What are you doing here? Did you come all the way from New York?"

"I thought I'd pay Heather a little visit."

"Did you drive here?"

"Yeah, I took my new Ferrari, did you see it round the front? She's a real beauty."

"Oh excellent, you'll have to show me."

"Dad!" Heather interrupted.

"He has come all this way Heather, we ought to show a little hospitality." he said before they walked around to look at his car.

With a groan, she stormed back inside.

"Someone's not in a good mood." her mother said as Heather went past the kitchen.

"No, I'm not in a good mood. Calvin my cheating asshole ex boyfriend just showed up."

"Oh, do you know why he's come?"

"He wants me back."

"Oh Heather," she placed a comforting hand on her daughter, "can't you get him to go away?"

"No, he won't. And now he's showing dad his new car. He's trying to worm his way back into our lives."

"Well, I know you won't like this but he has come so far and I should give him some dinner before we send him away."

"Mom!"

"I know it's hard sweetie, and what he did to you was awful but just let him have dinner and then he'll be gone."

"Uh, fine. But don't listen to his crap." she went back upstairs.

"You took your time." Pennywise said.

"I know, I got a little sidetracked."

"So is he gone?"

"Uh...well, about that," she began, seeing Pennywise's face twist into a frown, "my parents know he's here now and my mom insists on letting him stay for dinner."

"How could you let this happen?" he snarled.

"It's not my fault, my dad saw him."

"Well I'm gonna be there too. I've gotta make sure he knows his place."

"No Penny, it's just gonna make things so awkward."

"Well do you want him trying to make an advance on you?"

"No...alright, fine."

"I suppose I'd better dress up." he said snapping his fingers and turning into Robert.

"I never took you for someone who cared about how they look." she walked over and wrapped her arms around his waist as he pushed his hair back in the mirror.

"I've got to look my best. And I want that Calvin to know what he's up against."

"Well there's no competition because I only wanna be with you."

"I know, but I've got to blow him away with my brilliance." he smirked.

She sighed, "this is gonna be interesting."


	21. Chapter 21

Pennywise knocked on the door, greeted by Heather's mother. 

"Robert! Come in." she beckoned warmly.

"What are you making? It smells great." he said, making sure to be kind.

"Oh I'm making fillet steak. How do you like yours done?"

"Uh, medium rare...please." 

"Robert there's something I should warn you about. Heather's ex boyfriend showed up and I've let him stay for dinner. At least this means you can show him what a true gentleman looks like." she smiled.

"Yeah, she told me. Well, I guess I'll go ahead and join you all in the living room."

"Yes, yes, go in. I'll go back to making the food." 

When he entered his eyes immediately settled on Calvin, burning through him.

"Robert, you're here." Heather sat up and walked over.

"Calvin, this is Robert." she announced with a complacent smile. 

He walked over to Pennywise, straightening his back as much as he could to seem taller. Pennywise gave a small smirk as Calvin looked up at his impressive height, his intimidation showing. 

"So you must be Calvin. I've heard all about you." he outstretched a hand.

Grudgingly, he shook it, "yeah I am. So you're Heather's new boyfriend."

"That's me." he said smugly.

He said nothing, at a loss for words. 

"Dinner's ready." her mother said.

They went to the dining room, Pennywise and Calvin both wanting to sit next to Heather. Pennywise pulled a chair back, motioning her to sit. Calvin glared as Pennywise put an arm around her. 

They both reached for the roast potatoes, "after you." Pennywise let go of the bowl.

"So Robert how are you getting on with your studies?" her father asked.

"Uh, it's all pretty good. Things haven't been too hectic lately so I've got plenty of free time." 

"Robert is a student at Harvard Calvin." he said.

"Oh, you must be pretty smart for that." he put on a fake smile.

"Yes, he's a smart boy. Calvin, I seem to remember your father telling me that you had a place at Princeton."

"Yeah, I did but I, uh...I dropped out." he trailed off.

"Oh dear, that wasn't a smart move. Well at least you've got your education. You and Heather both went to Trinity School, finest in New York. Fifty thousand dollars a year that costed, I'm glad it's over."

Calvin looked smugly at Pennywise.

"So Robert, what do your parents do? My dad's a day trader, he works in Wall Street, top of his game."

"My parents are dead." 

"Oh, uh, sorry." he replied awkwardly.

Heather's mother stood up, "I think I'll go get the dessert."

After a dinner spent slyly competing to see who was the best option for Heather, they gathered back in the living room.   
Pennywise and Calvin continuously cast hateful glances at one another across the room as they all sat and talked.

"Well, I'm gonna head upstairs, Arthur are you coming?" her mother spoke.

"Yeah." he stood up and followed.

"I think you should be heading off soon Calvin." she added before she left.

"Ok you can drop the whole mr perfect act." Calvin said.

"I can't help being the way I am. Just because you're some rich pampered daddy's boy doesn't mean everybody's gonna throw themselves at you." 

"Well you're just a small town little nobody."

"At least I'm not a cheating scumbag like you." 

He was silent, fists and jaw clenched, "well I don't give a shit about what you think of me. And just so you know I'll be sticking around, I'm gonna check in at the motel."

"Nobody wants you here, why are you staying? Just go back to New York and leave us alone." Heather spoke.

"I want what's mine," he looked to Heather, "and I won't let some dipshit like you stop me." he took a defensive step towards Pennywise.

"Oh yeah, I'd like to see you try." he spat back. 

He grabbed his jacket and swung it over his shoulder, "I'll be seeing you around." he nonchalantly walked past them and towards the front door.

"See you babe." he wiggled a brow at Heather before he left.

"What are we gonna do?" she said.

"I'll kill the bastard." he snarled.

"Don't, when his parents notice that he hasn't come home it'll all get traced back to me."

"Well what do you suggest? He's too stupid to realise he hasn't got a chance of getting you back."

She sighed, "I don't know what to do, I just hope he leaves soon. I'm going to bed now, let's just sort it out tomorrow." 

"Fine." he pouted.

The next morning Pennywise woke, looking over to see if Heather was awake. He watched her sleeping peacefully, a small smile spreading on his lips. She stirred, opening her eyes and slowly sitting up. 

"Were you watching me?" she spoke as she stretched her arms.

"Yeah, but don't worry I only woke up a minute ago." 

"Ok good, otherwise it would've been creepy." she smirked. 

"So now we need to discuss what we're gonna do about the little parasite."

"Oh come on, I just woke up. Let me get ready and then we'll talk." she stood up and got dressed.

She had her breakfast and then came back upstairs, "right, what do you wanna say?"

"He's not gonna go away until he gets what he wants. He won't listen to reason."

"I know but what can we do?"

"Let me deal with him. You won't have to worry about him again."

"Penny what did I say? If this is the last place he was seen then the police will ask me about it."

"I know what I'm doing, I'm good at covering my tracks."

"It's a very drastic move, why don't we just see what happens and take it from there?"

"Well fine, but if all goes wrong don't blame me."

An hour later the doorbell chimed, "I'll get it." Heather called, bounding down the stairs. 

She opened it to reveal Calvin, leaning against the door frame with crossed arms.

"Hey." he spoke calmly.

She shut the door, only to be blocked by his foot, "hey, don't shut the door on me." he pushed it open.

"What do you want?" she spoke sternly. 

"I thought I could take you out for a spin in my car." he gestured to the shiny blue Ferrari parked outside.

"And you think I'd agree to this because?" 

"Come on, it'll be fun. Just like old times."

"Calvin, you really are an idiot." she shut the door again.

He pushed it open, "please, just a spin around town and I'll leave you alone, for good."

"I don't believe you."

"I promise, if I can't get you back then I suppose there isn't much point in me sticking around. Plus this town is a dump."

She rolled her eyes, "charming as ever I see. I'll go, but don't try to hit on me or do anything else of the like." 

"You have my word." he gave a smile.

"Gimme a few minutes."

"I'll be waiting in the car."

"Who was that?" Pennywise asked as she reentered the room.

"It was Calvin."

"What does he want now?"

"He wants to take me out for a ride in his car."

"I assume you weren't dumb enough to accept."

"Well, actually I did, and hear me out before you say anything."

"This better be good." he growled.

"He said if he takes me round he'll leave us alone for good."

"You actually believed him?" he walked over to her.

"He's harmless, he's just an idiot."

"Are you really that naive? He's just looking for a way to get in your pants."

"I told him not to get presumptuous, come on, it'll be fine."

"This is a bad idea Heather." 

"I'll be ok, you don't need to worry." she took a hold of his hands.

He pulled them away,"go, I won't stop you. But don't underestimate what he might do to you. I'll walk you to the door, just to give him a reminder of who's boss."

Calvin watched sternly as Pennywise stood with Heather in the doorway.

"Bye darling." he said, dipping her and giving her a long, deep kiss.

He looked up at Calvin, enjoying how he got under his skin. 

"Ready to go babe?" Calvin spoke as she approached the car.

"Don't call me that." she got into the passenger seat.

"Sorry, guess I thought we were back in New York together." 

"Calvin, what did I say?"

"Ok, ok, I'll back off." he started the engine.

They drove down the surrounding streets before coming onto the Main Street, neither saying a word.

"Hey, you're pretty quiet. Wanna have some fun?"

"What do you define as fun?"

He put his foot down and sped along the street, driving out of the residential area and into the tree surrounded country roads.

She let out a chuckle as the wind swept through her hair.

"See, it's fun isn't it?" he smirked.

"Maybe a bit."

"We could do this all the time, it'll be just like before."

"Calvin, no."

"Why would you want that boring loser when you could have me?"

"You're overstepping the mark Calvin, I thought I made it clear that we're never getting back together."

"You're gonna throw away all that we had for him?"

"You said you'd drop all this if I went in the car with you. Now let me out."

He continued to drive, "Calvin let me out." she spoke.

With a stern face he suddenly drove off the road and down a path into the forest. He stopped the car, eyes forward and hands tightly clenching the steering wheel.

"What are you doing?" 

He was silent.

"Calvin, please, your scaring me. Just let me out."

"We had so much, and then you decided to dump me and move out here."

"You cheated on me Calvin, I can't just forgive and forget."

He put a hand on her thigh, "come on, I know you want this." he leaned in to kiss her.

She pushed him away, "get the fuck away from me!" 

He slapped her hard across the face, leaving her stunned as she held her stinging cheek. 

"If I can't have you then no one will." he pulled at her clothes, trying to take them off as she writhed and thrashed.

"Calvin, stop!" 

He pinned her wrists down, looking her maliciously in the eye. She looked back at him with glassy eyes, "please, let me go." hot tears rolled down her cheeks.

He unbuttoned his trousers before grabbing her head, "no one ever did it like you baby." he spoke in an unsettling whisper as he pushed her head further down.

She pushed against him, but he was too strong. He pulled down his underwear, her face mere inches away from his crotch. Suddenly, he was jerked backwards, crying out as he was pulled out of the car. There stood Pennywise, looking hatefully at the boy in his hand.

"A clown? What the fuck?" he yelled.

"I knew you were a little bastard right from the start." 

"Who are you?"

He shifted his face into Robert, smirking as he saw Calvin's eyes widen with horror. 

"What the fuck are you?!" he squirmed, trying to free himself from Pennywise's vice like grasp.

"You dared to take what's mine. Well now it's time to pay the price." he slammed him against a tree, his hands wrapped tightly around his neck. Calvin wheezed as Pennywise’s fiery eyes burned into his, his lips curled into a hateful scowl. Normally, he would’ve just eaten him and be done with, but this was personal. He wanted to watch as his life slowly faded with each passing moment, the look of loathing on his face the last thing he ever saw.

Heather found a spare set of keys and got out of the car, looking at the scene before her.

"H-heather, g-get back!" Calvin spoke, his voice barely audible.

“Penny, don’t!” she called out.

"Let me finish him!" Pennywise spoke.

"No, he may deserve it but I won't be responsible for his death."

Pennywise growled, jerking his face close to his, "leave, and never come back. And if you say anything to anyone I'll finish you off for good." he spat, bearing his rows of flesh tearing teeth to Calvin as he quivered.

He reluctantly dropped him to the ground with a thud. Calvin stumbled towards his car, getting in and driving away as fast as he could. 

Pennywise looked at her sternly, "what did I tell you?!"

"I'm sorry, you were right. I - I should have listened." she looked away from him.

"I've been on this planet long enough to know that people aren't what they seem."

"I thought he was a decent guy but...I was wrong," she began, "thanks for saving me, I don't know what I'd do without you." she embraced him. 

He seemed satisfied with her response, easing up slightly, "yeah, yeah, now lets go...home." he took her hand in his.


	22. Chapter 22

Pennywise roamed around the desolate sewer, looking at all the items he had collected over the years. It had become 'home' to him, whatever it was considered to be. Only now was he beginning to understand it's true meaning. He had been spending so long at Heather's house that the sewers were beginning to become slightly unfamiliar to him. He felt more and more unattached from them the more time he spent away from them. 

Sometimes he wished he had never crossed paths with Heather or that he had just ended her the first time they encountered one another. She had completely changed all that he was and transformed his malevolent nature. He never thought himself capable to love, nor did he think anything of love, to him it was a stupid and primitive human trait, but he found himself in love now, and there was no going back. 

There was a time when he would've lured an innocent child to a horrific death without a second thought, savouring the taste of every mouthful of their flesh. He even found enjoyment in it, but now he felt nothing. The only thing he could think of was how disgusted Heather would be if she knew what he was doing. It was his nature, it was his purpose, to feed on the fear of the innocent, and now he was unable to carry out that purpose. It was as though his life had come to nothing. 

He decided to go back to Heather, appearing in her living room in an instant. 

"Oh hey, I haven't seen you in four days." she walked over and embraced him. 

"I've been busy." he spoke.

"I think we should do something today, we're always cooped up in this house." 

"No, I don't want to go anywhere."

"Well aren't you dynamic, ok fine we'll stay here. We could at least go outside." 

"Whatever." he said before she took his hand and led him to the garden. 

She sat on the grass, patting the spot next to her for him to sit. He sat down and looked ahead blankly.

"What's up with you?" she nudged him.

"Nothing, I'm fine." he spoke indifferently.

"No you're not. Come on, why are you so grumpy today?"

"I told you, there's nothing wrong. Now stop bugging me."

"You really expect me to believe there's nothing wrong? You can tell me Penny, whatever it is." she put a hand on his arm. 

He grabbed it forcefully, "stop." he spat.

"What's gotten into you? This isn't you." she looked at him wide eyed.

"No, this isn't me," he gestured to the two of them, "I'm supposed to be a being of consumption, to be the opposite of all of this, a monster. You've changed all that I am, interfered with my purpose. I don't know why I let myself get into this position in the first place." 

"So that's all you see me as? Just an interference. Even after all that we've been through together, doesn't that mean anything to you? Don't you want to be something more than just a killer? Who's to say that that's your only purpose." 

"I need to feed, but because of you I can't just get on with it. I've tried to stop for you, for us, but I can't."

"Then do it. It's horrible but if it's the only way for you to survive then you have to."

"But don't you see? It's not the same. You've made me soft. Why did I fall in love? This isn't me, you're just a human, weak, nothing." he turned away, breathing heavily, fists clenched. 

"Penny, please," she put a hand on his shoulder. 

"No!" he turned around, swiping her across the chest with his claws.

He gasped as he saw what he had done, all his anger suddenly gone as she looked at him with horror.

"Heather, I — " he took a step towards her.

"No, get away from me," she stepped back, clutching her bleeding chest, "I guess you proved your point, you really are a monster." her eyes brimmed with tears.

She ran back inside, Pennywise following close behind, "Wait, I didn't mean to. I - I'm sorry." 

"Save it." she spoke coldly.

"Please, Heather." 

She walked on through the house and out the front door. He stopped, seeing there was nothing he could say and that his presence would only make things worse. 

"What have I done." he spoke to himself. 

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she entered the forest, blood all over her clothes and hands. She couldn't believe he would hurt her. Suddenly the security she had felt around him was compromised. She knew she had no reason to be disappointed. No matter how hard she tried to change him he was at heart an evil being, a cold hearted killer, a monster.

Pennywise sat in the house, full of regret for what he had done. The one thing in this world he had vowed never to harm, never to be a victim of his nature, had been desecrated. All he had said before, that he only lived to feed, that he was above love, he realised wasn't true. He looked at the blood on his nails, for once feeling repulsed by the sight. He had never known what it was to feel self hatred but now the feeling burned through him, fuelling a fire deep within him.

What if he'd ruined everything between them? How could she ever look at him the same? He put his head in his hands as all the possible outcomes raced through his mind. Only now did he realise just how much Heather meant to him. He couldn't imagine going back to the life he had lived for so long. If he lost her he would lose everything. 

Heather walked along the leafy path, her depressive state of mind worse than ever. She looked up to see Pennywise in front of her. She looked away from him, "I don't wanna talk to you."

"Heather, please listen to me."

She said nothing.

"I didn't mean to hurt you, I was just so worked up. What I said, I see now that it's not true, I was a fool. You've change me yes, but for the better. You've made me more than what I thought I was. You're my purpose Heather, and I love you."

She looked at him, "You hurt me Penny, not just physically. I don't know how I can feel the same security around you anymore. I saw something in you that I've never seen before, something I could never forget."

"I know, and I could never tell you how sorry I am, but the thing that did that to you, it's not me. Please Heather, you know I'd never want to hurt you." he took a step towards her.

"You say that you won't hurt me but how will I know that it won't happen again? Maybe next time your hunger will get the better of you and you'll kill me."

"No, I'd rather die than hurt you like that." he put his hands on her shoulders.

She sighed, "let's just go back." 

He transported them back to the house.

"I should clean myself up." she said.

"No, let me do it. I did this to you." 

"Fine." she said before he followed her to the bathroom.

He didn't really know what he was doing but he was able to figure it out. She took off her top, wincing in pain as Pennywise applied a soaked cotton ball to her wound. He took two large band aids and put them over the long claw marks. Once he was finished, he gently pulled her close to him.

"I'm so sorry." he spoke in a whisper.


	23. Chapter 23

The night had arrived and Heather made her way to bed. Pennywise gingerly followed her to her room, watching her stand by the bed, hoping she would say something to alleviate the situation. 

"I think you should sleep in the sewers tonight." she spoke, facing away from him.

"Heather," he began, only to be cut off.

"It's for the best. I just can't be around you right now." 

"Well...alright." he said, disheartened by her rejection. 

He turned to leave, "...I love you." 

"Goodnight Penny."

He disappeared before she climbed into bed, pulling the covers over her before she cried like she had cried so many nights before she met him.

The next morning she woke, feeling unsatisfied without his warmth next to her. She wanted things to go back to normal but whenever she thought of him images of that moment flashed through her mind, that animalistic aggression she had never seen before. She decided to have a shower, thinking it might wash away some of the stress. 

All the emotion she had felt in that moment came back to her as she removed the band aids and looked at the large gashes in the mirror, a mark of his monstrous nature. She winced in pain as the hot water seeped into her wounds. After her shower, she went downstairs for breakfast.

"Morning dear." her mother said as Heather entered the kitchen. 

"Hey." she spoke quietly.

"You ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You don't sound fine. What's up?"

She sighed, "I've just been going through a rough patch with Robert."

"Oh honey," she hugged her, "I'm sure it'll all work out. I've seen how he is with you, he wouldn't want to lose you."

"Thanks mom." she smiled.

Pennywise transported himself to her room, sitting on the bed and waiting for her to return. Surely she must feel better about it all now. His attention was diverted from his thoughts as she opened the door. She uncertainly stepped in and closed it behind her. 

"I don't expect you to forgive me right away, but you know that I regret what I did and I would never do it again." he spoke.

"I know, but every time I look at you I just see the thing that did this to me."

"That's not me, at least not anymore."

She walked over to him, "it's not that I don't forgive you, because I do, it's just...I don't know." she trailed off.

He took a hold of her hand, gently rubbing it with his thumb, "let's just go back to the way we were before, it's what we both want."

She sat on the bed next to him, reaching a hand forward and caressing his face, "I love you Penny."

"I love you too." 

He slowly leaned in, Heather doing the same until the space between their lips was closed. They pulled away before he wrapped her in arms and held her close to his chest. She nuzzled into his warmth, savouring the feeling of his embrace.  

"I think I can fix it." he spoke.

"Fix what?"

"The scratches. I think I might be able to heal them."

"You can do that?"

"Well, I've never done it before, but I think I can."

"Ok then." she said before she took off her top.

He took off one of his gloves and put his hand on the wound, making her recoil slightly. He closed his eyes, his features clenched in focus. Suddenly a golden light glowed inside his chest, growing brighter and brighter. It was mesmerising, hypnotic, obscurely beautiful. The light travelled along his arm, to his fingers and to the wound. A few seconds, later he removed his hand and the light slowly disappeared. She looked down, gasping as she saw the perfectly healed skin, no trace of the deep gashes that were there before.

"How did you do that?!" 

"I used my lights." he put a hand on his chest.

"Your lights?"

"They're my essence, they make me what I am."

"Well, thank you darling." she wrapped her arms around him.

"Don't thank me. I'm just fixing my mistake."

"Even still, I'm glad to have you." she smiled.

He pulled her in again, "It's good to have you back."


	24. Chapter 24

Pennywise held Heather close to him as they slept together. She had forgiven him and things were back to normal, much to his relief. Though he hadn't eaten in a month, and he found his hunger harder and harder to suppress. He was growing weaker and weaker all the time. 

The morning arrived and they both woke to the bright, spring sun. He sat up slowly, finding the action harder than usual. 

"How did you sleep? You were tossing and turning quite a bit." she spoke.

"Was I? I didn't know."

"Is everything alright? There must be a reason you were so restless last night."

He kept a poker face, "I'm fine, don't worry."

"Well, alright then." she got up from the bed and went to pick out her clothes.

He took a step forward, his legs buckling slightly. He grabbed onto the bed post, his vision blurring slightly. Gathering all his strength, he walked forward only to fall to the ground. 

"Penny!" she rushed to his side as she heard him thud.

She lifted his head onto her lap, "what happened? Speak to me darling." she gripped his hand.

His eyes were half lidded, "I - I need to feed. I - I'm so hungry." he spoke barely above a whisper. 

"Why didn't you tell me? You've been suffering all this time." 

"I'm sorry, I really tried. I wanted to change but I can't." 

"It's ok, you can't change what you are." she stroked his face.

"Let's get you onto the bed." she said, putting his arm around her shoulder and helping him up.

"I don't know if I'm strong enough to hunt." 

"Oh Penny. What can I do to help?"

"You shouldn't get involved, I don't want you to have to be a part of this."

"Well if you don't feed you'll die. I'm made of stronger stuff than you think, just tell me what to do." 

"Heather, I think I'll be able to manage."

"You can barely walk, it's impossible for you to do this by yourself."

"Well, you could find me someone to...you know. Bring them to me in the woods and I'll handle the rest."

"Ok, can you get there by yourself?" 

"I'm sure I can manage." he stood up and stumbled towards the door.

"You need my help." she walked over and helped him down the stairs and out of the house.

Heather walked along the Main Street, a moral dilemma on her hands. She was no murderer but in doing this she practically was one. At the very least she could find someone unworthy of living. She entered the local bar, figuring it would attract the local lowlifes. 

"What can I get for you miss." the bartender smiled as she sat down.

"Can I get a strawberry daiquiri please." 

"Make that two." a leather jacket clad man in his thirties spoke.

He shifted to the seat beside her, "well, well, look at you. It's not every day you see such a beauty in this little town." 

"Well, thank you, I'm flattered." she spoke with a coy grin.

"I've never seen you in here before, are you a local or just visiting?"

"I live here. I moved in seven months ago." 

"Well aren't I the lucky one."

The bartender put their drinks on the table. Heather went to take out her money but was stopped by the man.

"It's on me." he winked as he slipped a ten dollar bill across the counter.

"So where about do you live?" he asked.

"At the top." 

"Oh, a woman of class. That's not something you see everyday." he leaned closer, his breath reeking of alcohol. 

"So what's your name?" he asked.

"Heather, what's yours?"

"A pretty name for a pretty girl. My name's Roger."

"I like that name, very...masculine." she flirted.

"So are you single?" he brushed himself against her.

"Maybe." she smirked.

He placed a hand on her thigh, "well it's a good thing you are, otherwise your boyfriend might get jealous." his eyes were filled with lust as he moved his hand up to her breast.

"Why don't we go somewhere private?" she said.

He looked slightly taken aback, "like where?"

"The woods."

"Hmm, I like it." 

They stood up and walked out. She couldn't shake her feelings of guilt as they ventured to the woods. She was leading this man to his death. A horrible, violent death. But if she didn't the one she loved would die. And she knew which one she cared about more.

Once they entered the woods she looked around for Pennywise. She spied him through a gap in the trees and gave him a nod. The man began to unzip his fly, walking over to Heather. 

"I wanted to do this as soon as I saw you at the bar." he said, leaning in to kiss her.

She pushed him back, "I'm sorry."

"What's got into you? Come on baby, you want this." he leaned in again but suddenly looked up, wide eyed at what stood before him.

Pennywise bared his fangs at him, stepping closer. 

"What are you?" he said before Pennywise picked him up by his collar.

"No, don't kill me! Take her!" he pointed to Heather.

Pennywise looked to Heather, "you should probably go home. You don't wanna see this." 

She turned and began to walk home, trying to keep her mind on other things as the man's screams resonated through the forest before they suddenly fell silent.


	25. Chapter 25

There was silence as Heather and her family sat and ate their breakfast. 

"So do you two want to do anything today?" her mother broke the silence. 

"I dunno." Lucas muttered as he ate his cereal.

"Heather, what about you?"

"I don't mind."

Suddenly the phone rang.

Heather's mother promptly stood up, "I'll get it."

"Lucas, have you been doing anything much at school?" her father spoke.

"Uh, well we've started a science project on space." 

"Nice, is it a group project?"

"Yeah, but I've got Martin in my group and he doesn't do anything."

Heather's mother returned and sat down, "Arthur, your mother just called."

"What did she say?"

"She wants to come and stay for a few days."

"No, not grandma! She always tries to make me wear shirts and trousers. And she always tries to push my hair back." Lucas moaned.

"It's only for a couple of days. And it wouldn't hurt you to try dressing a little smarter."

"I told her all about Robert, she's eager to meet him." she added.

"Mom, why?!" 

"Why not? He's a perfect choice. I'm sure Helena will love him." 

"Grandma has even higher standards than dad."

"Oh nonsense." she said as she cleared the table.

Heather went upstairs, anxious and concerned. It was bad enough having Pennywise meet her parents but her grandma would be even worse. As usual, he appeared in her room with impeccable timing. 

"You're stressed." he said.

"Yeah, I am. My grandma is coming tomorrow." 

"That doesn't sound fun."

"It won't be. If you think my dad's bad wait till you meet his mother."

"Well it's a good think I won't be."

"My mom told her about you so I don't think you have much of a choice."

He growled, "who says I have to do anything?"

"I'm not making you do anything but it'd be nice if you met her. She doesn't bite, I promise."

"Ugh, fine!" he frowned.

"Just be charming and suave and it'll all be fine."

"Whatever."

The next day a silver Mercedes rolled onto the gravel driveway, indicating her grandmother's arrival. 

"The witch is here." Lucas said, looking out the living room window.

"Lucas, don't call her that." Heather's mother said before she headed to the front door.

The doorbell rang, "Helena! It's good to see you!" her mother beamed.

"Hello dear." she walked coolly past her. 

She was a woman of standoffish disposition but she had a kind heart underneath her remote exterior. Her perfectly coiffed grey curls shook as she turned to face Heather and Lucas.

"I've missed you two." she said, embracing Heather then Lucas, "what are those silly jeans you're wearing Lucas? You ought to wear some proper trousers."

"Mother, it's good to see you." he smiled.

"Arthur my boy." she gave him a hug.

"Why don't I show you to your room?" Heather's mother spoke.

"Yes, thank you dear."

Ten minutes later, she returned downstairs and they went to drink coffee in the living room. 

"So Heather, your mother spoke to me briefly about this boyfriend of yours. What was his name, Richard?" her grandmother said as she fingered the pearls around her neck.

"Robert, and I hope you like him, he's coming over soon."

"From what I've heard so far he has some good prospects. Tell me, was he educated at the local school?" she raised a brow.

"Yeah he was, but he's at Harvard now so it doesn't really matter." Heather said.

"I see." 

The doorbell rang again, "oh that'll be Robert." Heather's mother promptly stood up to answer the door.

Pennywise walked into the living room, all eyes turning to him. 

Heather's grandmother stood up, "ah, you must be Robert. I've heard a lot about you."

"Good things I hope."

"Yes, he's a certainly a handsome boy. It does make up for his poor upbringing." 

"Helena!" Heather's mother scolded.

Pennywise quietly went to sit next to Heather, having no idea what to say. 

"So I hear you're a student at Harvard, what are you studying, law?" she said.

"Yes, I wanna open my own firm one day."

"Very entrepreneurial, not something you see very often these days."

"So Robert, have you lived here all your life?"

"Yeah I have."

"I hope you don't mind me saying this, but it is such a dreary little town. Have you ever thought of moving?"

"Uh, I don't know, I've never really known anything else."

"Well I suggest you do or you'll go quite mad."

"It is a nice town mother." Heather's father spoke.

"Well, it's definitely a far cry from New York but I suppose it's quite idyllic."

"Heather dear, how long have you two been an item?"

"It must be nearly six months now."

"Oh, it must be serious. I expect you'll be proposing soon Robert."

Pennywise and Heather exchanged horrified looks.

"Mother, I think it's much too soon to think about that." her father said.

"In my day boys just got on with it, they didn't spend all this time waiting around doing nothing."

"I think I should start making dinner." Heather's mother spoke up.

"Yes, that would be a good idea." her father said.

"So have you had many girlfriends Robert?"

"Mother." her father sighed.

"No, Heather's my first, and my last."

"Ah, good. I wouldn't want my granddaughter dating some womaniser." 

"Grandma, your questions are a little inappropriate." Heather said.

"Sorry dear, just making sure he's worthy of you." 

"He doesn't need to meet anyone's standards. Not yours and not dad's. I love him and that's what should matter."

"Ok, ok dear, I'll butt out now."

After an awkward dinner time spent answering overly personal questions, Heather, Lucas and their parents cleaned up the table while Pennywise walked back to the living room. Heather's grandmother sat gracefully postured on one of the sofas, looking as though she had been expecting him. He sat on the adjacent sofa and hoped she wouldn't pester him anymore. 

"I had my reservations about you at first, but I see now they were not warranted." she spoke.

"Heather hasn't always been so good with her choice of boys. Her first boyfriend, Calvin, was a very dishonourable character. I know it may seem all I care about is your background but I care more about your principles. You're a nice boy Robert, and a great future husband to my granddaughter." she smiled.

He gave a smile, "thanks."

Heather and the others came and sat down. 

"Heather why don't you play the piano? I always love to hear you play." her grandmother said.

"Sure." she said before she sat and played as they talked and laughed through the evening.


	26. Chapter 26

"I'll see you guys at school!" Lucas bid farewell to his friends as he approached the house.

At that moment he saw Robert leaving, "oh, hey kiddo." he said as they walked past each other.

"Hey." Lucas replied.

He was about to go back inside but his curiosity was roused. Lucas has always thought there was something not quite right about Robert, what if he followed him and saw where he was going? He knew it wasn't a good idea, what if he caught him? How would he explain himself? But his curiosity got the better of him and before he knew it he had walked back down the steps and after Robert.

Keeping a good twenty feet away from him, Lucas followed Robert through the town, making sure to be stealthy. Suddenly Robert's head jerked around and Lucas darted behind a bush, almost jumping out of his skin. Robert looked around for a few seconds before he walked on. 

Lucas found it rather odd when he turned down the path into the forest. Surely he should be walking home? After walking a few more minutes Robert suddenly stopped. Lucas hid behind a tree as he watched, confused why he had stopped in the middle of the forest. Robert stretched his back and neck before suddenly transforming into a clown in the blink of an eye. Lucas's eyes went as wide as dinner plates as he covered his mouth to suppress his gasp.

"What the fuck." he whispered to himself.

Lucas continued to watch as the clown disappeared into a sewer opening before he sprinted back home. 

"I was right! I was right all along! I did see a clown in the kitchen...and he's my sister's fucking boyfriend!" he spoke.

Once he arrived back home, he ran up the stairs and busted Heather's door open. 

"Lucas, what the hell?" she looked at him with furrowed brows.

"I know about Robert."

"What about him?" 

"He's some weird shape shifting...thing. I saw him turn into a fucking clown," he began, "that time in the kitchen, I was right about what I saw. You denied it, mom and dad thought I was crazy, but I saw him."

Heather was shocked. How the hell did he find out? She couldn't show her disquiet or he would know for sure.

"You think Robert's some shape shifting clown? Do you hear yourself? You're fucking crazy." 

"No I'm not! You're dating some creature pretending to be an ordinary human and you've known all along. The both of you have been lying to our faces all this time. I bet you've had sex with him too, gross!" he shouted.

"What's all this yelling about?" Heather's mother walked in. 

"Robert is a shapeshifter, I saw him turn into a clown. That time in the kitchen when I said I saw a clown I was right but you didn't believe me. And Heather's known all along." 

His mother looked bewildered, "Lucas dear, isn't this all a bit far fetched? Are you sure you didn't hit your head or something?"

"No mom! Why won't you believe me? I saw him turn into a clown just like that." he clicked his fingers.

"Do you not like Robert? Are you making up lies to put us off him?" 

"It's not that! Why won't you listen? I know it sounds crazy but I saw it with my own two eyes. I always knew there was something wrong with him, I had a gut feeling since I first met him, and I was right to be suspicious."

"Lucas do you realise what you're accusing him of? I think maybe we should take you to see a therapist, you're seeing things that aren't there honey."

"You know what mom? Fuck you, and fuck you too Heather." 

His mother slapped him hard across the face. He clutched his burning cheek, looking slightly stunned before running to his room. 

"Lucas you get back here! How dare you talk to me and your sister like that! There will be serious consequences young man!" 

Heather fell back onto her bed, thinking what would happen now. Now Lucas knew for sure what Pennywise really was, and he wasn't going to let it go. She waited until the evening when Pennywise came to talk about it though she worried he would try to take drastic action.

"Heya." he said as he walked over to her.

"Lucas knows about you." she spoke.

He stopped in his tracks, "what does he know?"

"He saw you changing form." 

For the first time she had ever seen, Pennywise looked truly panicked.

"I always hated the little bastard. What the hell are we gonna do?" he said.

"I don't know! He'll never let this go. He knows for sure what you are now." 

"Well there is always an option." he patted his stomach.

"Penny no, you're not eating him! He's my brother! I can't believe you think I'd ever agree to that."

"Just saying. What if I gave him a real scare? I could threaten him to silence."

"It could work I suppose, but he'd still be on my case." 

"It'll work, trust me."

"Well there aren't really any other options. Just do it." 

"I'll be back soon." he said before vanishing to Lucas's room.

Lucas stirred in his sleep as he heard the faint jingle of bells. He sat up, rubbing his tired eyes as he looked around the room for the source of the noise. Then a pair of sinister yellow eyes emerged from the dark before a pallid face. Pennywise crept nearer, revealing his full self to him. 

"You!" Lucas gasped.

"Yes, it's me." he grinned as he climbed onto the foot of the bed.

"What are you?"

"Your worst fear."

"You're not human."

He shifted his face to Robert's, "you guessed it. And now that you know my little secret I suggest you keep your little mouth shut or there will be...repercussions." he moved his face inches away from his.

"What are you gonna do?" he spoke complacently.

A claw emerged from his glove, making Lucas gasp as he pulled up his t shirt and laid it on his bare skin. 

"I'm sure you know this town's disappearance rate is much higher than average. But they've never found out why, or what's causing it." he dragged his claw lightly across his torso.

"It's been happening for centuries, ever since this town was created. There have been many speculations over the years but none of them have ever proven true." he added.

"It's you!" Lucas exclaimed.

"Yep, and you'll be next if you don't keep quiet. If you ever speak a word of this to anyone I won't hesitate to gobble you up like all the others." he raised his claw to his throat, bearing his rows of fangs.

"I won't say anything, I swear." he breathed rapidly under the feeling of his sharp claw against his skin.

"Good," he backed away from him, "I'll be seeing you around." he said before he disappeared in an instant.


	27. Chapter 27

The next morning Heather went downstairs and towards the living room. She went to sit on the sofa where Lucas was sitting but he stood up and walked out. She sighed, knowing he wasn't going to be forgiving her anytime soon.

"Lucas, you don't need to be so sour about all of this." she spoke as she followed after him.

"You sent your psycho killer clown boyfriend to threaten to fucking eat me! All to protect your lie and shut me up. What the fuck is wrong with you?!" his eyes burned with seething hate. 

"I didn't know what else to do to make you stop talking about it. I'm sorry, I didn't want it to have to be this way." 

"You know what? Just don't talk to me. I hate you." he was straight faced.

"Lucas, please understand." 

"Just shut up!" he slammed his room door behind him.

There was nothing more she could say so she went back to the living room and slumped herself onto the sofa. How on earth could she make this right? Was this the way things were going to be now? He would never feel the same about her ever again. All the years of her life she would be estranged from him, her own brother. The vision of a happy family with Pennywise a part of it now seemed unattainable. Every time Pennywise appeared as Robert all Lucas would see was a monster disguised in a facade, capable and ready of killing him at any time.

But what else could she have done? If she didn't do anything he would've kept going on about seeing Pennywise until her parents started to question if he wasn't lying. She stood up and looked at the photos on the mantlepiece. There was a photo from six years ago of her and Lucas in Florida, hugging and smiling. She thought back to that holiday and how much fun they had had together. A horrible feeling arose in the pit of her stomach as she knew their relationship would never be like that again. He was a pain, she knew that much, but he was her and brother and she loved him.

"Lucas, please open the door. I need to talk to you." she found herself back upstairs.

"No, I have nothing to say to you. I'll never talk to you again after what you've done to me." his voice was muffled through the door.

"I know you're really mad at me and I don't blame you but what was I suppose to do? You left me no choice. I know you must see Robert as just some monster but he's more than that. He's tender and kind to me, he loves me. He isn't like anyone else and that's what makes him so special to me." 

"He eats people! Children! He's a freak, a monster! Why would you ever love him?"

"It's strange I know but we can't help who we fall in love with. Just know I only did what I did to protect our relationship, I love him and I can't bare to lose him. And I can't lose you either, we have our differences and our squabbles but I love you Lucas." 

He opened the door, "well I don't love you. Maybe I did once but not now. I hate you. I fucking hate you."

"You don't mean that." 

"Oh I've never meant anything more in my entire life."

"Lucas —" she began.

"Save it. You're dead to me." he slammed the door in her face.

She was taken aback, stung by his words. There was no hope for forgiveness she saw. Feeling hopeless, she wandered back to her room.

"You're upset." Pennywise said, already standing in her room.

"Yeah, it's Lucas, he's not taken it all very well."

He sat on the bed next to her, "what did he say?" 

"He's really given me the cold shoulder, he said he hates me." 

"He's a little boy, they say things they don't mean."

"You didn't see his face. He looked at me with such coldness, he really does hate me. My own brother hates me." she began to sob.

He put his arms around her as she cried.

"I know he's annoying and an asshole sometimes but he's my brother. I think he'll hate me forever." 

He wiped away her tears with his gloved thumb, "he needs time. I couldn't tell you how long. Weeks, months, maybe years. But it won't be like this forever." 

"Everything's changed now. There's a rift in my family that can't ever be fixed. What am I gonna do?!"

"Shh." he cooed as he held her to his chest, gently stroking her back. 

"We had to do what we did, for us." he added.

"I know, and it had to happen but I've ruined the relationship between me and my brother."

"He can't hold a grudge forever. It's not as if I actually hurt him."

"You don't know that he won't."

"There's nothing you can do for now to change his mind. Just give it time and he'll come around." 

She sighed, "ok. Thank you darling, you always know what to say." she smiled.


	28. Chapter 28

Condensation gathered on the window from the cold air outside. There was not a soul to be seen anywhere. Everyone was snuggled up inside in the warmth and none so much as Heather and Pennywise. He had an arm around her as they sat on her bed, neither saying much at all, for they didn't need to. 

"This is nice." Heather said, nestling closer into Pennywise's chest.

He didn't reply, only wanting to hold his love close to him. 

"I'm so glad I have you, I don't know what I'd do without you." she spoke, lifting her head to look at him. 

He smiled and stroked her hair, "I feel the same." 

She smiled back, "you really mean that?" 

"Yes."

She looked into his eyes, the blue of the warmest tropical sea, a sea which drowned her, filling the crevices of her heart that she didn't know were there, making her somehow whole. The blue of the most precious jewel, hung upon the ear of an empress, it's fine cut refracting the light of the sun, a dazzling spectacle that captivates all who have the privilege to gaze upon it. The blue of a newborn baby, pure and innocent, unmarked by the cruelty and corruption of the world, making you want to hold it in your arms and shelter it from the unrelenting world.

"I've never felt this happy in all my life. All the sadness I used to feel, it went away when we fell in love." she said, intertwining his fingers in hers.

"I'm glad that you're happy."

"I want us to have a life together, I wanna spend the rest of my life with you."

Her words diverted his thoughts to his long sleep, disturbing the contentment he had been feeling. How could he tell her this was their last month together?

He gave a tight smile and didn’t reply.

"You mean so much to me Heather. I'm not one for sentimental words, and I don't think I'll ever fully comprehend human feelings, but you are more important to me than anything in this universe and every other." he spoke, trying to hide the wistfulness in his eyes.

"I love you." she put her head back on his chest, soothed by the steady beat of his heart.

"I wish things could stay like this." he said.

"What do you mean?"

He could hardly bring himself to say it. He was about to compromise everything he had loved so dearly over the past eleven months. All of the comfort and happiness he had come to know.

"My sleep."

She felt her heart sink into the pit of her stomach. Those two words had ruined her life in an instant. It seemed as though everything they had been through was all for nought. Every kiss, every moment of contentment, every night of pleasure would soon become a thing of the past.

"What?" her voice was barely audible. 

His vibrant blue eyes faded to a dull grey. The grey of storm clouds passing in front of the sun. The grey of a desolate wasteland void of any life. The grey of complete hopelessness. 

"For how long?" 

He didn't want to say it, couldn't say it. It would break her.

"Penny, how long?" she looked at him with worried eyes.

"Twenty seven years."

Her guts twisted, her chest was tight, the strength was drained from her body. She was overcome with such strong emotion it was too much to handle. Just like that her reason for living was gone. 

"No, no. There has to be a way. There has to!" tears welled in her eyes.

He shook his head weakly, "there's nothing that can be done."

Her heart raced so fast she thought she would faint. She could barely control her breathing. She almost wanted to throw up.

"How could you do this to me?! You tell me this now after all that we've been through? Why would you do that? Why would you make me love you for so long when you know you'd be breaking my heart at the end? How could you be so selfish? I hate you! I hate you!" she beat at his chest. 

"Heather..." he put an arm out to her.

"No!" she pulled away from him, "how could you ever expect me to move on from this? After I've loved you for so long. I can't live without you, you're my only reason for living. Oh Penny, please don't leave me!" she threw herself back into his arms, sobbing profusely.

"I would give anything to stay here with you. This is hurting me as much as it’s hurting you. I know I should've told you before but things were going so well, I didn't want to ruin what we have."

"It's not fair." she spoke between sobs.

"You know I would stay if it were in my power...but I can't."

“Why, why, why?” she cried into his chest as he held her tightly, “it’s not fair...”


	29. Chapter 29

Thud. Lucas made contact with the hard concrete road. 

"Rich boy ain't so high and mighty now!" Henry Bowers spoke as he and his gang encircled Lucas.

"If only your sister had given in to me I might not have been so hard on you." he added, looking down at him with an unsettling smirk.

"Suck my dick Bowers." he spat, looking back up at him with a scowl.

Henry kicked him hard in the stomach. Lucas cried out in pain, clutching his abdomen.

"It's looks like Prescott wants to get himself killed." he said to his gang.

Patrick roughly pulled him up to his feet.

Henry's flick knife glinted in the sun as it clicked open. In his eyes was pure malice as he moved it towards Lucas's face. 

"L-let him go Bowers!" a teenage boy's voice called out.

Both Lucas and Henry turned their heads to the source of the noise. A group of teenagers stood on the road in front of them, their apparent leader, a willowy brown haired boy standing forefront. 

"You just can stay away can you?" Henry grit his teeth.

"Put him down." a red headed girl commanded.

Henry contemplated his options before pushing Lucas away with a disgruntled groan. 

"You haven't seen the last of me losers." he gave them all a dark look as he and his gang fled.

"You ok kid?" the girl asked.

"Yeah, thanks. Who are you guys?" 

"W-we're the losers club. I'm B-Bill, that's Beverly, that's Eddie, that's Richie, that's Stan, that's Ben and that's Mike." Bill gestured to each of them as he spoke.

"I'm Lucas."

"Do you want to j-join us?" 

"Uh, sure," he began.

"Are you at D-derry High? I-I don't think I've seen you before."

"Uh...no, I'm at Waynflete School."

"Isn't that that fancy private school in Portland?" asked Richie.

"Well, erm, yeah." 

"Damn you must be rich."

"Richie!" Bill scolded.

"W-we were gonna go the q-quarry...you wanna come?"

"Yeah, sounds good." he smiled.

Lucas looked over the rock edge, standing in his underpants, his heart in his throat. It sure was a long way down. He looked around at the other boys feeling the same as him. The red headed girl, Beverly, ran forward and jumped into the crystal blue water below. The others began to follow suit and Lucas found himself splashing into the cool water, still in one piece. 

They spent the next hour splashing and swimming and laughing and sitting on each other's shoulders. Lucas hadn't had so much fun in all the months he had lived in Derry. Suddenly it seemed more like home.

"Wait, you're from New York? That's so cool!" Richie said as they all sat on the rocks by the water.

"Yeah, I miss it."

There was a silence as they were all thinking the same thing. 

"L-Lucas...have you seen anything s-strange around town lately?" Bill spoke up.

"What do you mean strange?"

"Well...a...a clown."

"Yeah! I know him, more than I probably should."

"What do you mean?" Beverly said, the group sitting up and listening in.

"Um...well he's sort of my sister's boyfriend." 

"What?!" they all said in unison, their mouths agape.

"H-he killed my brother!" Bill said.

"Gee, I'm so sorry. I only found out who he really was last month. He takes the form of a normal human when he's around me and my parents and pretends to be some ordinary guy called Robert. When I found out he threatened me."

"How could he be anyone's boyfriend? That's just fucked up." Eddie spoke.

"Why would somebody love him? Or better yet, why would he love anyone? It doesn't make any sense." Beverly said.

"I know. He fooled my parents but I knew from the start there was something weird about him. You should see him and my sister all over each other, it's disgusting. I heard them having sex once, it was horrible." he spoke with a shudder.

They looked at each other with expressions of disbelief. 

"Maybe she's his weakness," Beverly began, "if we target her he'll be at our mercy." 

"Y-yeah, then we can finally beat him. I-if your ok with that L-Lucas." Bill said.

"Do what you want, I hate her now after what she's done."

“What are we gonna do then?” Beverly asked.

“I dunno, we need some time to come up with something.” Lucas said.

“Let’s get that son of a bitch!” Richie spoke.

——————

Author’s note: hi, hope you’re enjoying the story, just to avoid any confusion the story is set in the present day and not the 80s, so just pretend the losers club are in this era!


	30. Chapter 30

Water poured out of the shower head as she pressed the on button. She took off her jeans and then her t shirt and underwear until she stood naked. The water was warm against her fingers as she checked the temperature. Then suddenly she felt a pair of gloved hands wrap around her shoulders. 

Pennywise's golden eyes pierced into hers as she turned to face him. He planted his lips on hers, pulling her in by her waist. He broke the kiss momentarily and let his clothes fall to the floor before beckoning them both into the shower. 

She felt his wet, slick skin against hers as they pressed themselves against each other. His hand ran down her back and caressed her backside. He bent down, not keeping his predatory eyes off her as his face settled between her legs. His warm tongue flicked over her womanhood, making her let out a gasp. The prodding muscle swiped up and down, moving between her clit. 

He grasped her hips and pulled her legs over his shoulders as he continued to pleasure her. Her breath was heavy from the growing heat in her abdomen until finally the pressure was released in a wave of euphoria.

Pennywise then slammed her against the glass shower panel. He smirked as he rubbed his tip in circles against her slit, her chest rising as she took a sharp breath. He then roughy pushed his huge size inside her. She groaned from the mixture of pain and pleasure. The clown grunted and groaned as he began to thrust, slowly and sloppily. She wrapped her legs around his torso and put her arms around his neck, closing the space between their torsos.

This was the way things had been the past few days. Heather and Pennywise hardly said anything to each other. They would only make passionate love. She wanted to detach from him so she might alleviate the pain when he went into his sleep. But try as she might, she couldn't stand to be apart from him. It was crushing her having to push him away. She couldn't go through with it.

He began to quicken his pace, the slapping of their wetted skin amplified by the hard acoustics of the shower cubicle. She pressed her lips against his again, feeling his tongue slithering around every corner of her mouth and hers doing the same. A low growl emitted from his throat, indicating that he was nearing his peak. His fast, pounding rhythm began to slow and falter and with a final grunt, he released his load into her.

Before she had a chance to catch her breath, he quickly withdrew and roughly flipped her around, her face and hands pressed against the cool glass screen. He entered her from behind, picking up speed much quicker than before. His hand snaked up her torso to cup one of her breasts. The other covered her mouth as he craned her neck to one side to gently graze the skin with his teeth. 

She felt a trail of saliva on her shoulder as he manically jerked his head, overwhelmed by the pleasure in his loins. That familiar heat grew stronger and stronger until both of them climaxed. His warm seed shot up inside her before he pulled out, finally finished with her. 

Heather panted as she came down from her high. It was the only time she felt any sort of elation since Pennywise had told her about his sleep. At the thought, her mind was clouded once again with the impending misery that was to come. How many more times would she make love to him? How could she ever allow anyone else’s hands apart from his to touch her? She often wondered if she could ever love anyone else after him. She couldn’t picture a life after him. When his sleep came it seemed as though her life would end there. It couldn’t be long now until he would be gone.

He sensed her sudden sadness, “Heather...” he spoke softly, caressing her face.

She looked up at him with forlorn eyes, “how long?”

He looked away from her. 

“It feels like you’re slipping away from me.”

His gloomy blue eyes met hers, mirroring the same bitter melancholy she felt.

“I can’t lose you.”


	31. Chapter 31

Lucas looked right and left before scampering into the woods. He walked until he reached a clearing where Bill, Eddie and Beverly were sitting on the grass.

"Hey guys." he said as he sat with them.

"H-hey Lucas." Bill spoke.

"The others should be here soon. Then we'll talk." Beverly said.

Soon after, one by one, the rest of the loser's club arrived. The eight of them sat in an awkward silence, looking to the ground or pulling blades 0f grass as they waited for someone to say something. 

"Will someone fucking say something? How the fuck are we gonna deal with this god damn clown?" Richie piped up.

"Well what do you suggest?" Stan said.

"I don't know! I'm not the brains of this group." he replied.

"Well we know that he cares about Lucas's sister. So obviously he'd protect her if someone tried to hurt her." Beverly said.

"But if we try to hurt her he'll just have even more reason to kill us." Eddie said.

"W-what would we d-do to her anyway?" Bill said.

Beverly shrugged, "I dunno." she sighed. 

"L-Lucas you could lure her in the w-woods and we could c-catch her." Bill said.

"Then he'll just kill us dumbass." Richie said.

"Well we need to hurt her somehow. If she's hurt that'll make him vulnerable." Beverly said.

Suddenly Lucas had an idea, "it's my mom's birthday in a few days. We'll probably all go out together, maybe we could walk back through the woods and you guys could be waiting." he spoke.

"Y-yeah, that could work." Bill said.

"And it also means I can finally show my parents what he really is. Then they won't be so approving of him and Heather being together."

"I couldn't imagine having to put up with him pretending to be a normal human and hanging around your house all the time." Richie said.

"Yeah, and my parents have no idea. They won't listen to me."

"How would we hurt her?" Stan said.

"Wait, we're only threatening to hurt her right? I mean, I do hate her but I couldn't hurt her really bad." Lucas said.

"No, don't worry Lucas it's him we want to hurt." Beverly said.

"I dunno, anyone who would be crazy enough to bone that guy should probably be hurt." Richie said.

"R-Richie!" Bill scolded.

"Just saying." he said, putting his hands up in defence.

"I have this gun that we use to kill the sheep on my grandfather's farm. Maybe we could use it." Mike said.

"Yeah, then we can finally get that son of a bitch." Eddie said.

"I'll talk to my parents about it and call you guys later." Lucas said.

"Ok, w-well I suppose th-that's it then." Bill said as he stood up.

The rest of the losers stood up.

"Well, see ya round." Richie said before he walked away.

"Bye guys." Beverly said.

Lucas began the walk home, thinking carefully about their plan. It would be dangerous. And he risked putting his parents in harm's way. But it would be worth the risk to expose Robert, or whatever his name was, for what he really was. A murderous, alien creature. 

"Just in time, I was about to call you. Dinner's ready." his mother said as he entered the house.

He walked through to the dining room where Heather and his father were already sitting. He made cold eye contact with Heather for a second before they both looked away from each other. 

"So I wonder what we'll do for my birthday." his mother spoke as they ate.

"Whatever you want dear." his father said.

"Hmm, we could go to Bangor for the day." she said.

"Wouldn't you rather stay at home? We can go to that really nice restaurant you like." Lucas spoke.

"Maybe, but I don't think I'd want to stay cooped up indoors all day."

"I think you should."

"Lucas, it's not your decision." 

He opened his mouth to speak again but stopped as he realised he was sounding suspiciously keen. 

"Have you been hanging about with those kids again?" his father said, peering over the rim of his glasses.

He pushed his food around his plate, "yeah." 

"Arthur, don't. He can be friends with who he likes." his mother scolded.

"Well I haven't heard very good things about some of them. Especially that Beverly girl."

"It's not true what people say about her."

"I'm not saying it is but I don't think these kids are a good influence on you. You have lots of other friends."

"Yeah and they all live in Portland! I don't have any friends here all because you wanna send me to some stuffy private school full of stuck up assholes!"

"Lucas! Language." his mother said.

"You should be grateful you're getting the best education in Maine." his father spoke sternly.

"I wish I could just go to Derry High and be with my friends. And I wouldn't have to do so much sport or wear stupid uniforms!" 

"We are not sending you to that...that shit hole of a school! I looked it up and they only have a fifty four percent pass rate. Who would want to employ you then? Not to mention the teachers have hardly any credentials and the students are all low life delinquents!" he shouted, slamming his hand on the table.

"Arthur! I can't believe you!" his mother furrowed her eyebrows at him.

"Oh save it woman! You would see him transferred to that horrid school to keep him from complaining. Even if it meant ruining his chance of getting into a top university and losing his important connections."

"Don't you talk to me like that! He isn't happy Arthur. That's more important than some highbrow, rich school friends. Not to mention Robert went to that school and now he's at Harvard." 

Heather looked away as Lucas gave her a knowing look of contempt.

"He will be happy when he's made a good life for himself and he's a civilised member of society. You should be annoyed that he's taking for granted an opportunity that other children not fortunate enough to be in his position would gratefully accept in a heartbeat. I have not worked my way up to where I am now to have the money to send my children to the best possible school only to have them spit it back in my face."

"I wanna be with my friends! I don't care about being a pompous asshole with fancy fake friends like you!" Lucas cried out. 

"How dare you talk to your own father like that! I had high hopes for you Lucas but now you're being misguided by these deviants. They're all gonna end up like their parents; poor, simple and uncouth. You don't want to end up like them."

"They're not deviants! They're my friends and they understand me better than you or anyone at my school." 

"We're not sending you to that school. End of story."

"I hate being part of this family!" he stormed out of the dining room and sprinted upstairs to his room.

His father sighed, "what are we going to do with that boy?"


	32. Chapter 32

"You two better be ready in two hours. We're going out at eleven." Heather and Lucas's mother called up the stairs.

The two of them came down the stairs, still not quite awake. 

"So have you decided where to go?" Lucas asked as he went to pour himself a bowl of cereal.

"Well you'll be pleased to know that we're not going too far afield today. And I think we will go to that restaurant in Derry for dinner." she said.

"Great." he replied, masking his relief.

"I think you should invite Robert along." he added.

"I thought you didn't like him. Anyway it's a family occasion."

"I thought Robert practically was family."

"Well, I suppose. Heather, do you know if he's free?"

"Uh, I think so. I'll ask him after I've eaten." she said.

"Ok dear. Well, Lucas it seems you've changed your tune. I'm glad your finally dropping your silly objection to him."

He clenched his jaw and said nothing, pouring the milk into his cereal.

Heather then went back upstairs to her room, opening her door to see Pennywise still sitting on her bed.

"Oh good, you're still here," she walked over to him, "my mom was wandering if you wanted to come out with us for the day. It's her birthday."

He was reluctant to spend time with her family but his days with her were numbered, so he knew had to make the most of what little time they still had together.

He sighed, "ok."

"Thank you darling." she gave him a quick hug.

She sat down in front her mirror to put on her makeup, making eye contact with him as he watched her. There was an uncomfortable silence as the both of them knew that the thought of his twenty seven year sleep was looming in the back of their minds, a feeling of impending suffering growing with each passing day.

"I suppose I'd better tell my mom that you're coming." she stood up and left the room.

"Mom, Robert says he can come." she called down the stairs.

"Oh good, well tell him to be here in half an hour."

"Ok."

As expected, half an hour later the doorbell rung and Heather's mother went to greet Pennywise.

"Robert, good to see you again. It's been a while." she smiled and embraced him, catching him by surprise.

He awkwardly put an arm around her, trying not to make his discomfort obvious.

"Yeah, um, it's been a while." he said.

"I'll go hurry everyone up," she turned away, "come on, it's time to go." she called upstairs.

Soon enough, the family was gathered in the hallway. 

"Robert my boy, good to see you." Heather's father said, patting him on the shoulder.

"Uh, you too." he forced a smile.

Heather's mother opened the door and unlocked the car. They all managed to squeeze into the SUV, Pennywise's head only just clearing the roof. He sat by the window next to Heather, looking to her with surprise as the car started up and began to move. He didn't care for human inventions but he had always been puzzled by their big, moving metal vehicles.

Pennywise looked out the window and at the sign reading ‘You Are Now Leaving Derry’. It was the second time in the four hundred years he had been lurking in this town that he had seen it, the first being when they had went to New York.  
Oh how Heather had turned his life upside down. 

They didn’t travel very far, only to a nearby town. It was quite pretty, and they spent three hours going around the shops and seeing the sights. Even Pennywise found some amusement in it. Afterwards, they drove back to Derry and went to Heather’s mom’s favourite local restaurant. Pennywise had tried plenty of good and bad human food and he managed to find something that he deemed acceptable to eat.

Now that they had finished, at long last Lucas had the opportunity to put his plan into motion, that is if they would agree to walk back through the woods. He felt excited at the thought of revealing that clown to his family. And his friends would be waiting there to help. 

They walked out into the street, feeling the cool evening breeze on their faces. The sky was beginning to turn a soft, pastel orange, indicating that it wouldn’t be too long until dark. This was his moment.

“I think we should walk back through the woods, it’s a nice evening for it.” he said.

“But it takes quite a bit longer than just walking on the street and I’m quite tired Lucas.” his mother said.

“Oh come on mom, it’ll do you good.”

“Oh fine then, if it’ll make you happy.” she sighed.

Lucas contained his delight as they walked away from the pavement and onto the gravelly path through the woods. He looked around for his friends and spotted Bill waving to him from the bushes with the rest of the losers, ready for his signal. 

It was time.


	33. Chapter 33

The losers club braced themselves for Lucas’s signal, Bill holding on tightly to the gun they would use to kill Pennywise.  
Lucas looked to them and gave a nod. Finally, they ran out of hiding, catching the family by surprise.

“Lucas, what are they doing here?” his mother asked, holding onto his father’s arm.

“We’re showing you who he really is!” he roared, pointing to Pennywise.

“This is ridiculous! Have you lost your mind you stupid boy!” his father yelled.

Heather and Pennywise looked frantically at one another. There wasn’t much they could do now. He couldn’t end up revealing himself to her parents and ruining what little time they had left. If her parents knew they would be appalled at her.

“I told you they were a bad influence on him and now look what they’ve made him done!” his father scolded his wife.

Suddenly Bill ran at Pennywise with the gun, dodging Lucas’s father who tried to push him away. He fired at him, the large bullet making a revolting squelch as it penetrated flesh. Lucas’s mother cried out, grabbing onto her husband.

Pennywise was unaffected, not knowing how to react as he stood in front of them all, blood floating upwards from his chest. They all looked at him with wide eyes, some covering their mouths in shock. 

“W-what’s happening to him?” Lucas’s mother spoke.

“You see now? He’s no ordinary human.” Lucas said.

“Lucas, that’s absurd.” she said.

“Oh yeah? You’ll see.” he looked to Heather and nodded at Bill.

Bill pointed the gun to Heather, finger on the trigger. Pennywise stepped in front of her, instinctively changing into his clown form and growling at him with bared fangs. His eyes went wide as he realised what he’d done. The losers club looked at him with complacent smirks as he looked uncertainly at Heather and her family.

He had never seen such an expression as the one on her parents’ faces. A mix of such intense shock, disgust and contempt. 

“Believe me now?” Lucas smirked.

“What the hell are you?” his father spoke.

Pennywise opened his mouth but struggled to find words, “I...I’m not...from here.”

His father’s mouth was agape as he realised he meant he wasn’t from this planet. 

“You, Robert, whatever your name is, you’ve lied to us all this time. Making us believe that you’re something worthy of esteem. Putting on some mask to fool my daughter and the rest of us,” he began, “pfft, you’re no Harvard student.” he sneered.

“Heather, did you know what he really was?” her mother asked.

She looked back and forth between Pennywise and her parents with desperate eyes. Her parents gasped.

“Oh Heather, why, why. You’ve been a part of this lie all this time. I thought you were better than that.” she said.

“You know he eats people right? Children especially. He ate Bill’s little brother.” Lucas said, gesturing to Bill who nodded solemnly.

His parents were abhorred to say the least, looking at each other with disbelief.

“I - I can’t believe this,” his father began, “how could you disgrace this family like this?! How could you lose all sense of moral decency and be with him knowing what sort of creature he really was?! I am ashamed to call you my daughter!” he spoke with venom.

Tears began to well in her eyes, “you don’t know him like I do. I - I love him. And he loves me.”

Pennywise moved closer to Heather, reaching a hand out to her.

“No! Don’t you touch her! Don’t you come anywhere near this family again!” her father spat.

He withdrew his hand, shrinking back into himself, the most vulnerable and submissive he had ever been. 

“I - I care a lot about your daughter...and your family too,” he spoke, his voice cracking and wavering, “I know I’m a monster, I don’t deserve care of any kind, but...the love she’s shown me...it - it’s changed me.” 

“You think I’m going to sympathise with you? I don’t care how much you two might care for each other, this won’t go on! It’s repugnant in every way!” her father boomed.

The losers club watched the scene before them with confusion. They certainly hadn’t planned this. They were supposed to just kill him and end things for good.

Heather took Pennywise’s hand in hers, “I’m in love with him, and nothing you say will change that.”

He smiled at her, touched by her devotion to him, but he knew it was foolish and futile. The more she spoke the more she soured her relationship with her parents. It’s not as if their relationship had a future anyway, he would be going into his sleep soon.

“You’re out of your mind.” her father frowned.

“Stop,” Pennywise began, “I’ll go. I won’t be round for long anyway, I’m going into my long rest soon.” he turned away from them.

Heather put a hand on his arm, “Penny please.” 

He gently removed her hand, “you can’t ruin things with your family for me. I’ll be gone soon anyway my love, it’s easier this way.” he caressed her face, wist in his eyes, before he walked back towards the sewer entrance.

Hot tears rolled down her face. There was nothing she could do now.

Her father walked over, a dark expression on his face, “come on, we’re going home.”


	34. Chapter 34

Heather paced back and forth around her darkened room, a million conflicting emotions troubling her mind. Her parents would never love her again and Pennywise had pushed her away. Should she try to make things right with her parents? Should she recklessly pursue her love even though it was doomed? She knew what she ought to do but her heart overpowered her head. She just loved him too much.

A figure appeared, their tall frame blocking the fading evening light from the window.

"Penny!" she raced over to him and embraced him.

He stroked her hair, "I couldn't stay away," he spoke.

He looked thoughtful for a moment, "if we stay together till the very end it's only going to bring us both even more pain. I know what you'll say but you should consider how much this will hurt you."

"I don't want us to drift apart. I want to make the most of every moment we still have together. I know it's only going to bring me pain but you're worth it...I love you Penny." she kissed him.

He cupped her face in his hands, "I wish more than anything there was a way for us to be together."

She stroked his face, "I would give anything to stay with you my darling. I don't know how I'm gonna go on without you."

"You need to forget about me my love. Move on with your life."

"That's easy for you to say, you're going to be asleep for the next twenty seven years."

"Even in the depths of my sleep I will feel my hurt, and yours. And I will live the rest of eternity with it." 

Tears welled in her eyes, "how can I ever move on? I could never love anyone else but you." 

"In time you'll find someone else, and when you do you must give your heart to them, I can't keep it forever," he wiped her tears, "but you'll always be mine," he held her hand to his heart, "Throughout the centuries to come I won't ever forget you."

"Oh Penny!" she cried bitterly into his chest.

He held her gently, his own emotions eating away at him too. Though he didn't want to show it on his face. His sleep was coming very soon, he could feel it. He couldn't bare to think of the pain he would cause her when he went into his long hibernation. All he could do now was make her happy in what little time they had left.

A thick silence clouded the air at breakfast the next morning. Heather could feel the condemning eyes of her family burning through her as she went to make herself cereal. She kept her vision cast down towards the table as she ate, not wanting to look up to see Lucas's smug grin.

She finished quickly and made a swift bid for the door after putting her bowl in the sink. 

"Just one moment young lady." her father spoke austerely. 

She sighed and spun round on her heels to face them.

"Don't think this matter has been resolved yet. You're not getting off lightly for being apart of something so horrific. You know this makes you an accessory to murder. We ought to call the authorities on the both of you."

She sniggered, "he's not human, he can't help being the way he is. He tried to stop but it nearly killed him, though I'm sure you'd want that. None of it matters anyway, he'll be going into his sleep anytime now. And I won't see him ever again."

"Thank god for that." her father replied.

"Why are you being so insensitive? I know you all just see him as a monster but I see the other side of him. The side that's made my life better than it's ever been in four years. And now I'm going to lose him forever and it's gonna break me." she clenched her jaw as tears threatened to fill her eyes.

"You know we care about you dear," her mother began, "but we can't just forgive and forget. Not after you've stood by this creature's side all this time while he's ended so many lives.” 

She could think of nothing else to say to validate her argument, and so she sighed and went back upstairs. There was no way her family would ever understand the love she shared with Pennywise. No one would understand. And now she had to pay the price for loving him.


	35. Chapter 35

Pennywise's eyes fluttered open. He looked across to see Heather still sleeping soundly against his chest, safe from harm in his comforting embrace. Those peaceful few seconds were gone as he was snapped back to reality. His sleep was coming any day now. He was growing weaker and weaker all the time. 

If only there was a way to stop it. Anything. If there was the slightest shred of hope he would've grasped at it. But there was nothing. Sometimes he wished he had never crossed paths with her. Then they wouldn't have to bring each other such misery. 

"Hey." she spoke, rubbing her tired eyes.

"Hiya darling." 

She went to sit up but was pulled back down.

"No, stay." he nestled her back against his chest.

She savoured the moment, closing her eyes and listening to the soothing rhythm of his artificial heart. Soon there would be no more mornings like this. She would wake up every morning feeling as though there was a part of her missing. A hole in her heart that couldn't be filled. She knew she could never love anyone else but him. No matter how hard she tried her life would forever be compromised.

"Come down to the sewers with me." he spoke, snapping her from her morbid reverie.

She sat up, "ok, just give me a minute to get ready."

He was lost in thought as she got dressed. He had grown so used to sleeping beside her in a warm bed, he didn't know what he'd do with himself at night when the world was asleep. Never again would he awake snuggled under a duvet, a protective arm around his lover. 

"You ok?" she spoke softly.

Pennywise turned his head to look at her, "I'm fine." he furrowed his eyebrows, taken aback that she would ask him such a question.

"Shall we go?" 

He got up from the bed, taking a hold of her hand before instantly transporting them to his lair. She looked around the cavernous, dank cistern, her eyes scanning over the piles of old, forgotten junk. Pennywise ushered her over to his faded circus trailer. The inside was surprisingly tidy and could almost be considered homely, thanks to Heather. 

There was a mattress with some cushions on the floor where they would both sit whenever he decided to bring her down to the sewers. In her current situation, it felt more like a home to her than her own. Though anywhere he was was home to her. 

"Here," she began, pulling something out of her pocket, "I want you to have this."

She handed a photo to him. It was of the two of them together in New York. He had hated posing for a picture but his smile looked sincere nonetheless. 

"Now you can remember us how we were." she spoke, resting her head on his shoulder. 

He felt the corners of his painted mouth curl into a smile as he looked intently at the photo. They both looked so happy, so normal. Carefully, he tucked the picture inside his suit, not wanting to damage it in anyway.

"What'll happen to you when you go into your sleep?" she asked.

"I'll take my true form, my dead lights, and I'll travel back to my dimension."

She nodded her head, somewhat understanding his words, "will you think of me?"

"Always." he spoke, unmoved.

"And I'll always think of you my love." she shifted herself to straddle on his lap, his face cupped in her hands.

They looked into each other's eyes, sharing the same surging passion for one another, both of them knowing there weren't words to satisfy their feelings. She leaned forward and planted a delicate kiss on his lips. He returned it without wanting or aggression, closing his eyes into the soft, sensual caress of her lips. It felt almost like a goodbye kiss, a farewell between star crossed lovers. This couldn't be the end, not yet.

Pennywise put a hand to his head as he felt his vision blur. His long limbs felt so heavy in his weak condition. A dark feeling came over him, one he had been dreading for months. It felt as though his heart dropped to the pit of his stomach.

He turned to Heather, such sadness in his warm blue eyes. She was struck with the same feeling as the realisation dawned on her.

He opened his mouth, his voice thin and raspy, "it's time."


	36. Chapter 36

"It's time."

His words echoed in her head. It felt like being stabbed in the gut. Her lip quivered as hot tears rolled down her cheeks.

"No...no, not now. Why? Why?!" she sobbed.

His breathing was shallow, his eyes heavy. He stumbled back onto the floor, Heather rushing to his side.

"This-this can't be happening." she struggled to speak through her tears.

"I...I'm sorry...to do this to you." his voice was barely above a whisper.

"No...don't be sorry," she began, "you've - you've made me happier than I ever thought I could be again," she held onto his hand, "you saved me Penny." 

"Y-you saved me too. You made me m-more than I am." he smiled faintly at her.

"Oh Penny, I love you." 

"I l-love you too." 

"What am I gonna do without you?"

He reached a hand up to gently stroke her tear stained face, “at least you only have one lifetime to deal with the pain.”

Tears dampened his suit as she laid her head down on his chest, hearing his faltering pulse as she clung to her lover in his final moments. She felt his hand gently caress her hair, trying to comfort her in her distress.

"I wish you didn't have to go." she whispered.

"I know my love. I-I don't want to go either."

"I don't think I can ever be happy again."

"In time you'll move on. F-forget me my love."

"I can't. Don't you see? I could never love anyone again the way I love you." she looked at him with desperate eyes.

He looked back at her with the same expression, his once fiery golden eyes now barely flickering flames. 

"There's s-so much I want to say," he began, "I know I wasn't the most affectionate or considerate mate to you...y-you deserved m-more than what I could give."

"Don't say that Penny. You gave me your heart, and that was all I needed. You showed me love and slowly it filled a crater in my soul that nothing could heal."

He then looked at her with an expression he'd never shown anyone before, "you're the best thing that ever happened to me."

She smiled and brought his hand to her lips, planting a gentle kiss on it before holding it to her face. He looked so fragile, so vulnerable. Everything he was the opposite of. All she wanted to do was cradle him close to her chest and whisper soft words of affection to him. Tell him every little thing she loved about him. Reminisce on their happiest times. What she would give to go back in time and relive those moments again.

“I won’t ever love again once your gone.” she spoke.

“You will. Y-you just have to give it time.” 

“But how much time? I don’t want to wait, I just want you.” she sobbed.

“You know we can’t be together my love.” 

“It’s not fair. Why won’t life just let me be happy?”

“It’ll get better, eventually. You’ll see.” he gripped onto her hand with the last of his strength.

Then he began to wheeze, his chest barely rising as his grip on consciousness grew weaker and weaker. She knew it was about to be over. Her hopes for a bright and blissful future would disappear with him. 

He opened his mouth to utter his last barely audible words, “I l-love you...” 

“I love you too.” she whispered, planting her lips on his.

Oh how she wished she could pause time and live forever in that moment. She didn’t want to open her eyes for as soon as she did the reality of her new, desolate existence would dawn on her. She stayed like that, with her lips against his, for as long as she could. 

But as much as she wanted to stay like that for eternity, she knew she had to pull away. She withdrew her lips, her eyes fluttering open to face her newfound despair. His amber eyes were closed, his lips parted, his arms limp against the ground.

“Penny?” she uttered.

He was still. 

“No, no!” she broke down once more. 

She cried out with all her might, her piercing screams filling the cavernous room. She screamed and screamed until her throat was raw, but no matter how loud she screamed she couldn’t alleviate her insufferable pain. All those weeks she had been dreading this moment, trying to prepare herself for the hurt she would feel. But she never realised it would hurt this much.

She laid there beside him, staring at his unmoving face, hoping somehow he would open his eyes again. But it was useless. Nothing mattered anymore. 

He was gone.


	37. Chapter 37

The world around her seemed to be unreal as she wandered out of the sewer tunnels. She didn't know where her feet were taking her. Her mind couldn't focus on anything but her grief. As horrible as they were, she would miss coming down to these sewers. They were a part of him. Another fragment of his memory to be lost. 

She felt...numb. Like she had lost all drive for living. Even in the most harrowing depths of her depression she had never felt as low as she did now. 

Somehow her feet had taken her back home. It was really one of the last places she wanted to be in that moment. She felt her pocket for her key and let herself in. Her vision was cast to the floor as she closed the door behind her and stood stuporous in the hallway. 

"Heather, are you alright?" her mother asked softly, her brows furrowed.

She looked up at her, hardly registering her words, "it's over." her voice was barren of any emotion.

"What's going on?"

Tears clouded her vision, "he's gone. I'll never see him again." 

Her mother sighed, "oh Heather." 

As much as she disapproved of the creature of Heather's affection, she hated to see her daughter this way, especially when she was already so vulnerable.

"What am I gonna do? I can't live without him," she began to sob, "what am I gonna do mommy?"

Her mother wrapped her arms around her, gently rocking her back and forth, "shh. It'll be ok dear."

But she knew it wouldn't be ok. This would swallow her up, push her to the edge. Why did the world have to bring such suffering to her daughter? Oh how she wished Robert, whatever his real name was, had been the ordinary human he had pretended to be for so many months. He had every trait she wanted for her daughter, and they were so happy together. She could’ve seen their future together, marriage, children. But that could never be now.

“There’ll be someone else, you’re only twenty, your life’s only beginning. It’s not the end.”

“But he was...the one. I love him so much.” she sobbed into her mother’s shoulder.

“I really wanted you two to be together until I found out what he was. I know you care for him but sweetie, he’s a monster, the things he’s done.”

Heather pulled away from her mother, “I know what he’s done, and it plagues my conscience everyday, but he made me feel so happy, he loved me,” she turned to walk up the stairs, “I know I can’t make you understand, no one does, but just think how I feel.”

She closed her bedroom door behind her and collapsed onto the bed. Her unrelenting tears soaked the bed sheets as she clutched onto a cushion. The pain only seemed to grow worse with each passing moment as the reality began to sink in, spreading like a cancer in her mind. He was gone. It was over. Nothing would ever be the same.

She was hollow, like a piece of her heart was missing. Her life didn’t seem to have any purpose. She couldn’t think about tomorrow, or the day after or the rest of her life. Without him it wasn’t worth enduring. Her reason to carry on had been taken away, and now it seemed she didn’t want to keep on living.


	38. Chapter 38

She had thought about it over and over again. Every moment the past two weeks she had debated the decision. Time wouldn't heal her wounds, if anything they only festered and debilitated her even more. People would tell her she had so much to live for, that she would find someone else in time. 

But time was something she didn't have enough of. She couldn't wait for him. He would go on living as she withered throughout the years. The decision would devastate her parents, and she didn't want to bring them such pain, but she didn't have the will anymore. She had to end it all. 

The blade between her fingers shimmered under the bathroom lights. She thought one last time, was this the right decision? She felt such guilt for the people she loved, but this had to happen. With a breath of apprehension, she raised the blade to her exposed forearm. 

Her mind flashed back to the year's events, meeting Pennywise for the first time on that rainy day, kissing his cherry lips, taking him to New York, watching his eyes shut as they spent their final moments together. It had been the best time in her life, but that flame of euphoria had burned out, leaving her in the darkness once again. 

She slowly dragged the blade across her delicate skin, wincing at the stinging sensation. Then she did the same for the other one, a long gash on either arm. Crimson pooled out of the open wounds, spilling down the walls of the bath tub. A few bitter tears escaped her eyes, but she felt numb inside. 

~~~~~~

A strange sensation came over him as he floated within his hypnotic lights. It grew stronger, striking him deep within. Something was very wrong, it must Heather. Then a hazy vision of her came into his mind. He could sense pain and danger. His whole being shook violently as he was disturbed from his restful state. Suddenly he was wrenched back into the physical world, gasping as his eyes shot open. 

How could this be? He thought it was impossible to be awoken early. Heather, she must be in danger. Without a moment's hesitation he got to his feet and teleported himself to her. 

His mouth was agape at what he saw, "no, no Heather." he rushed over to her.

"P-Penny?" she looked up at him with wide eyes. It couldn't be. He was gone.

Suddenly it dawned on her that she had just ruined their last chance at being together, "oh god, no..."

"But, I thought...how did you..." she began.

"I sensed that something was wrong with you, and it forced me out of my sleep." he spoke, momentarily shifting his attention to stroke her face.

He shook his head, "why did you do this?" he spoke frantically, grabbing her wrists to try and stop the bleeding.

"I couldn't live without you. I didn't wanna go on." she looked at him with teary eyes.

Never had he been so disgusted by the sight of blood. It soaked his gloves, continuing to flow out. He spied a towel on a rail beside him and swiftly grabbed it, the white towel quickly turning red as it soaked up the copious amounts of blood. She felt herself growing faint, slipping in and out of conscientiousness.

"Heather, Heather." he put a hand on her face, trying to stop her from fading away. 

"I'm sorry." she spoke faintly.

"No, no, don't say that." he spoke soothingly as he lifted her out of the bathtub and cradled her in his arms on the tiled floor.

He put his hand on her chest, closing his eyes as he channelled his lights into her as he had done before. Her eyelids flickered, her breathing shallower and shallower. With all his strength, he transferred his life force into her, an intense golden light flowing through her body. 

"I - I love you Penny." she raised a hand to stroke his face.

"This isn't the end, you're going to be fine." he assured, trying to clamp her bleeding wrists once again. 

"I wish...in another life...we could've been....together." she could hardly speak as her body was being drained of it's essential fluid.

Then her eyes closed, her hands falling limp to the floor. 

"No, no Heather," he stroked her face, "wake up...wake up!"

She didn't respond.

"No...no, you can't leave me." his voice broke as he choked back tears.

He violently thrashed his head from side to side, squinting his features to hold back the hot tears welling in his eyes. It was weak, pathetic, human. But he couldn't hold them back any longer, and so he released the wave of emotion, letting the tears roll down his painted face as he cried vehemently. 

"You can't do this to me, I need you...Heather, I need you." he spoke through his sobs.

"I love you." he cradled her against his chest, hoping she would wrap her arms around him as she had done so many times before.

But such a thing would never happen. She was gone. 

He wiped his tears with his blood stained gloves, but more only came replace them. He had never known such pain, such acute distress. How could he go on the rest of eternity knowing she had died because of his abandonment?

"P-Penny?" a whispered voice spoke.

He looked down to see her eyes open, looking up at him with puzzlement.

"Heather!" he exclaimed, bringing her face into the crook of his neck. 

"I thought I'd lost you forever." he spoke, his cheeks still wet and his eyes red.

"Oh Penny." she gently wiped his tears, surprised by such a show of vulnerability from him.

She was supposed to be dead. She had had her final moment, exhaled her last breath, felt her eyes close forever. But now she had returned as though it had never happened. 

"How...how did you bring me back?"

"I used my lights, but this time I put a part of them inside you," he put a hand on her chest, "you'll stay as you are for eternity now."

She couldn't believe it, eternal life. But at least now maybe they could be together.

"What about your sleep? Will you have to go back?" she put a hand on his chest, looking up at him with worried eyes.

"The cycle is broken now, I don't need to sleep anymore." he smiled.

"Oh Penny, thank god." she smiled, feeling her eyes tear up again, but this time with joy.

He held her against his chest, "now we can be together for the rest of time, and I'll never leave you again."

"You promise?"

"Promise." he said as she pulled his face towards hers, planting a passionate kiss on his soft lips.


	39. Epilogue

She looked out at the bustling city, passing quietly by through the window of their New York apartment. A familiar pair of arms wrapped themselves around her, enveloping her in a soft embrace. He rested his head on her chin, joining her in her musing.

So much had happened that past month. Reuniting with Pennywise, immorality, running away from home, starting a new life with him. It had been so hard to leave her family behind. It filled her with so much guilt. But it was the only way. 

The hardest part had been convincing Pennywise to leave. The world outside of Derry didn't seem to exist to him. His life was built around the town, all he had to show for his four centuries was there in that sewer. But as much as he was reluctant to leave it all behind, he wanted a future with Heather, and so he left with her.

That morning, she had woken before the dawn, packing her things together and taking once last look at her home before closing the door behind her forever. When she didn't come to breakfast that morning her mother naturally went to investigate only to find she had gone, and a note had been left on her bed. It read,

"Dear Mom and Dad,

I love you both so much, you've done so much for me and I'll always be grateful but I need to be with the one I love. He came back to me somehow, and we want to have a future together but we can't do that here. I know you don't approve and you'll be ashamed of me but I need to be with him, he's the only one who can make me happy.

I'm sorry, 

Heather

Her mother cried, and her father was in disbelief. As for Lucas he couldn't tell if he was relieved or upset, though he didn't want to admit to himself that it was the latter. How could she run away to be with that monster? What sort of life would she be able to have with him?

As they drove along the vast, country roads, all she could think about was her parent's distress and shame. She even had to pull over to cry in his arms. Her mind tried to convince her it was a mistake but her heart longed to be with Pennywise, and it was obvious which would win.

She had wanted to move back into her family's New York townhouse but her parents would never allow it. So instead she used some of her hefty trust fund to pay for a deposit for an apartment. It was moderately sized and cosy with a great view of Manhattan. Perfect for their new life together.

"We did the right thing, didn't we?" she spoke, turning to face him.

"We've been over this so many times already." he replied, jaw clenched.

"I know, it's just...I still feel bad." she looked to the floor.

He put a finger under her chin, raising her gaze to meet his, "we have a future now, you and I. Don't look to the past my love."

She sighed, "yeah, you're right." 

"There's nothing left for us in that town. I was more reluctant than you to leave but I want to have a life with you." he spoke soothingly, stroking her hair.

She smiled, "you always know what to say."

"It's a gift." he smirked.

"No secrecy, no sneaking around, this is exactly what I wanted for us," she began, "but I guess my family can't be a part of that." she looked away for a moment.

"I'll be your family now." he said, his amber eyes turning a warm blue.

"Aw Penny." she smiled at him, pulling him into an embrace.

"We don't need anyone else. Just me and you for the rest of time." he said.

She smirked, "I guess we're actually being literal when we say we'll be together forever, huh?" 

He chuckled, putting his arms over her shoulders, "yes...yes we will."

She looked into his eyes with renewed hope, a feeling that they could take on anything life had to throw at them, "damn right we will."

 

\- THE END -


End file.
